Channing Tatum Says ’23 Jump Street’ Is The Best Script He’s Ever Read (For A 3rd Part Of A Franchise)
Channing Tatum won’t ever let Jump Street go. The hunky actor says he wants to reunite with Jonah Hill for the third installment in the hilarious comedy franchise.
23 Jump Street Is The ‘Best Script’
While promoting his upcoming rom-com Fly Me to the Moon, Tatum, 44, told ComicBook.com this week that he would just “love to see 23” and to “do it with Jonah, and Jonah I know wants to do it,” he added. “We would love to just get to go play again.”
Tatum has starred in movie franchises for Step Up, G.I. Joe, the Lego movies, and most recently finished the Magic Mike franchise with a trilogy in 2023. He swoons to ComicBook of 23 Jump Street, “There is a project that was written, and it’s still the best script that I’ve ever read for a third movie.”
However, the Magic Mike star acknowledges there will be a lot of hurdles to overcome to get 23 Jump Street greenlit after years of delays. He told the publication that there is a lot of “bureaucracy” and “above-the-line stuff” that is making the third film “really hard to get it made,” but they have been trying to get it done.
21 Jump Street came out in 2012 and was directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. It grossed more than $200 million at the box office. The 2014 sequel, 22 Jump Street, became the second-best opening of all time for an R-rated comedy at the time, opening to nearly $60 million during Father’s Day weekend and grossed $327 million worldwide.
The two films saw Hill and Tatum star as undercover police officers who attempt to prevent the outbreak of a new synthetic drug in a high school and then moved to college in the sequel. Ice Cube, Brie Larson, Dave Franco, and Rob Riggle starred in the first film.
23 Jump Street was confirmed by Sony Pictures later that fall. Leaked Sony emails revealed that the third Jump Street installment was planned to be a crossover with the Men in Black franchise, tentatively titled MIB 23.
Per the hacked emails, MiB stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones would not be included in the movie crossover, according to the Wall Street Journal in 2014. Smith, 55, and Jones, 77, played Agent J and Agent K, respectively, in three Men in Black films, first starting in 1997.
Despite setbacks, Tatum remains hopeful that 23 Jump Street film will eventually materialize. Tatum tells ComicBook he’s going to “put some good juju out there.”
Meanwhile, Tatum’s latest project is starring opposite Scarlett Jonasson in Fly Me to the Moon, out in theaters on July 12th. Also starring in the film are Woody Harrelson and Ray Romano. Watch the trailer below: