American actor and producer Channing Tatum and director Steven Soderbergh will be reuniting for the third installment in the Warner Bros. male stripper saga, Magic Mike’s Last Dance.
Tatum confirmed the news on Twitter, sharing a picture of his script with the caption,” Well world, looks like Mike Lane’s tapping back in.” He elaborated on his excitement in a statement to Variety, writing, “There are no words for how excited I am to blow the doors off of the world of ‘Magic Mike’ with Steven, Greg, Reid and the amazing people at HBO Max. The stripperverse will never be the same.”
Well world, looks like Mike Lane’s tapping back in. @hbomaxpic.twitter.com/V9Ce62n710
— Channing Tatum (@channingtatum) November 29, 2021
Magic Mike is loosely based on Tatum’s experiences as an 18-year-old stripper in Tampa, Fla. The original 2012 movie proved to be more than a shameless cash-grab for audiences to watch a shirtless Tatum, accompanied by muscular co-stars Alex Pettyfer, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello and Matthew McConaughey. It also became a surprise critical and commercial success, earning $167 million at the box office and scoring sterling reviews for Tatum and Soderbergh.
A sequel, Magic Mike XXL, was released in 2015. The movie was well received and generated $120 million globally.The franchise proved to be lucrative beyond the big screen. Tatum later conceived and co-directed Magic Mike Live in Vegas, which expanded internationally with sold-out shows in London, Berlin and Australia. It was Magic Mike Live in Vegas that eventually enticed Soderbergh back into what Tatum has dubbed “the stripperverse.”
The live shows inspired the upcoming HBO Max reality competition series Finding Magic Mike, premiering on December 16. The show follows 10 men who have “lost their magic” as they bare their souls and learn to perform dance routines. The winner will be awarded a cash prize and a chance to perform on the Magic Mike Live stage in Vegas.
Meanwhile, as reported by Deadline, Magic Mike’s Last Dance will not be playing in theaters and instead will premiere directly on HBO Max, the streaming service owned by WarnerMedia. Reid Carolin, who wrote the first two movies, is returning to pen the newest entry about Tatum’s character Mike Lane. Though plot details for the next chapter have not been revealed, it’s expected to wrap a bow on the trilogy.
Magic Mike XXL director Gregory Jacobs is producing Magic Mike’s Last Dance with Carolin, Nick Wechsler and Peter Kiernan.
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