Channing Tatum Says ’23 Jump Street’ Has “Best Script That I’ve Ever Read for a Third Movie”

Channing Tatum is still hoping the long-rumored third 21 Jump Street film becomes a reality.

In an interview with ComicBook.com published Monday, the Fly Me to the Moon actor reflected on reading a script for a third 21 Jump Street movie that would once again star himself and Jonah Hill.

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

Following the release of the two successful 21 Jump Street films, Sony had been tossing around the idea of a crossover movie featuring two of their biggest comedy franchises, 21 Jump Street and Men in Black. Hill would later reveal that the merging of the movies was unlikely to happen.

“I had the idea,” Hill told the Toronto Sun at the time. “But I doubt that movie will get made.”

The idea of a Jump Street/Men in Black crossover first came to public light via the Sony email hacks in 2014. But the film never came to fruition.

“It’s just a lot of bureaucracy, kind of above-the-line stuff,” Tatum explained. “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,” Tatum 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.”

The 2012 comedy, which was directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, 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, and had opened to $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, with Wyatt Russell and Jillian Bell joining the cast in the sequel.

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