Channing Tatum has shared that both he and Jonah Hill are eager to make “23 Jump Street,” despite the cancellation of earlier plans for a third film. “21 Jump Street,” developed in 2008, was a spin-off of the popular 80s TV series starring Johnny Depp. The film version, released in 2012, was turned into a comedy by screenwriter Michael Bacall and featured big names like Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, and Ice Cube. It was praised as one of the best comedies in years and led to a sequel, “22 Jump Street,” in 2014. Fans are now hoping for a return of the characters Schmidt and Jenko.
While promoting his new movie “Fly Me To The Moon,” Tatum discussed the failed attempt at a “Jump Street” and “Men in Black” crossover. He said, “There is a project that was written and it’s still the best script that I’ve ever read for a third movie. 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. 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.”
The “MIB 23” idea had even reached the point of signing a director, but it never got into production. In 2014, a cyber attack on Sony Pictures leaked private emails and affected many projects, including the “23 Jump Street” and “Men in Black” crossover. The leaked emails revealed plans to bring Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ideas for an animated Miles Morales film, and the “Jump Street” and “Men in Black” crossover. Two of these projects were eventually made. According to Time magazine, the crossover would have featured Tatum and Hill’s characters as new recruits in the alien government agency. “Men in Black” stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones were not expected to have major roles in the crossover.