Movies

Channing Tatum reveals ‘23 Jump Street’ is ‘best script’ he’s ever read — is it greenlit?

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Published June 26, 2024, 7:49 a.m. ET

Channing Tatum still wants to make “23 Jump Street” alongside Jonah Hill.

“I would love to see ’23,’ ” Tatum, 44, shared with ComicBook while promoting his film “Fly Me to the Moon.”

“I would love to do it with Jonah [Hill], and Jonah I know wants to do it,” he continued. “We would love to just get to go play again.”

Jonah Hill as Schmidt and Channing Tatum as Jenko in "22 Jump Street" (2014)
Jonah Hill as Schmidt (left) and Channing Tatum as Jenko star in “22 Jump Street” (2014). AP

Despite their eagerness, the “Magic Mike” star acknowledged obstacles to moving forward.

“There is a project that was written, and it’s still the best script that I’ve ever read for a third movie,” Tatum told ComicBook.

He added: “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.”

“I would love to do it with Jonah, and Jonah I know wants to do it,” Tatum stated about "23 Jump Street."
“I would love to do it with Jonah, and Jonah I know wants to do it,” Tatum stated about “23 Jump Street.” AP

Chris Miller, one of the filmmakers who co-directed and co-wrote the first two movies, told Cinema Blend that he and creative partner Phil Lord crafted a first draft of “23 Jump Street” in 2015.

Initial plans quickly faced complications, however, when emails leaked from Sony revealed a crossover with “Men in Black.”

The potential collaboration would involve Hill and Tatum’s characters from “21 Jump Street” interacting with the universe of the sci-fi comedy franchise. 

The initial plans for "23 Jump Street" quickly faced complications when emails leaked from Sony and revealed a crossover with “Men in Black.”
The initial plans for “23 Jump Street” quickly faced complications when emails leaked from Sony revealed a crossover with “Men in Black.” Columbia Pictures/courtesy Everett Co / Everett Collection

Per hacked emails from Sony’s motion picture chief Amy Pascal, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones would not be included in the movie crossover in any prominent roles, if at all, according to the Wall Street Journal in 2014.

Smith, 55, and Jones, 77, played Agent J and Agent K, respectively, in “Men in Black” (1997), “Men in Black II” (2002) and “Men in Black 3” (2012).

“Jump street merging with mib i think that’s clean and rad and powerful,” Hill, 40, wrote to Pascal in the memo at the time.

Jonah Hill wants “23 Jump Street” to happen. Getty Images for DGA

Sony went on to confirm “MiB 23” at CinemaCon in 2016, but Hill expressed doubt that the film would be made later that year. 

“They’re trying to make all the deals, but it’s kind of impossible with all the ‘Men in Black’ stuff,” the “Superbad” star told the Toronto Sun at the time. “The ‘Jump Street’ films were so fun to make, and the whole joke of them was they were making fun of remakes and sequels and reboots, and then now it’s become a giant sequel, reboot. It’s almost become what we were making fun of, and it’s hard to maintain that joke when it’s so high-stakes.”

“It’s almost become what we were making fun of, and it’s hard to maintain that joke when it’s so high-stakes,” said Jonah Hill on the crossover film. Glen Wilson/Columbia Pictures

Tatum explained that the crossover’s logistical difficulties came from the two franchise’s executive producers being too expensive. 

“There’s [Steven] Spielberg, [Neal] Moritz and Walter Parkes,” Tatum said in a 2022 interview with Collider. “They’re giant producers, and once everybody’s kind of not willing to come off their fee, you end up having a producer fee that’s essentially maybe more than the actual budget of the movie.”

Tatum explained that the crossover’s logistical difficulties came from the two franchise’s executive producers being too expensive.  WWD via Getty Images

Despite setbacks, Tatum remains hopeful that the third “21 Jump Street” film will eventually materialize. The two previous movies were box office hits and solidified the actor as a comedic leading man. 

Both “21 Jump Street” and “Men in Black” have explored other franchise extensions since the crossover was put on hold. 

Sony attempted a female-centered spinoff of “Jump Street” in 2015, but the project stalled. The 2019 sequel “Men in Black: International” with Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, meanwhile, marked the series’ first installment without Smith or Jones. It was the lowest grossing of the four franchise films.