Channing Tatum is still campaigning for the third 21 Jump Street film, which was written a decade ago.
In a new interview, the Fly Me to the Moon actor, 44, recalled reading a script for a third Jump Street movie, which would once again star himself and Jonah Hill as undercover police officers Jenko and Schmidt. This time, however, the film would be a crossover with the Will Smith-Tommy-Lee Jones franchise Men in Black, titled MIB 23.
Following the release of two successful Jump Street films in 2012 and 2014, Sony had been trialling the idea of a crossover sequel featuring the two franchises, which are among the film studio’s biggest comedy titles. Plans for the film fell through at the time and the script was left unproduced.
Tatum, however, is still determined to make the film happen. Speaking to ComicBook.com on Monday (24 June), the Magic Mike star revealed the script for the crossover is “still the best script” he’s ever read.
Explaining why it hasn’t yet been greenlit, Tatum said: “It’s just a lot of bureaucracy, kind of above-the-line stuff. It’s really hard to get it made, and we’ve been trying to get it done.
“You know what, I’m going to put some good juju out there and I’m going to say I would love to see 23 Jump Street,” he said. “I would love to do it with Jonah, and Jonah I know wants to do it. We would love to just get to go play again.”
According to Time magazine, the crossover would have seen Tatum and Hill’s characters as the extraterrestrial government agency’s newest recruits. It is believed that neither of the Men in Black stars, Smith nor Jones, would be involved in any capacity if the crossover movie were to go ahead.
Meanwhile, screenwriters Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Loeglin who previously wrote a female-led spin-off called Jump Street: Now For Her Pleasure, are looking for a star-studded cast, according toDeadline.
The first instalment, titled 21 Jump Street, was released in 2012. Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the movie grossed more than $200m (£157m) at the box office. Its 2014 sequel, 22 Jump Street, grossed $327m (£258m) worldwide.
Both films saw Tatum and Hill play undercover police officers who infiltrate a high school – and then a college – to crack down on a new synthetic drug. Among the cast for the original were Brie Larson, Ice Cube, Dave Franco and Rob Riggle, with Wyatt Russell and Jillian Bell joining the cast for the second outing.
The Independent has contacted Sony for comment.
