I think it’s safe to say that a lot of people really liked Magic Mike. And yes, I’m sure that the mountains of man flesh helped, but a lot of that was also due to – and you have no idea how difficult it is for me to say this – Channing Tatum, upon whose life experiences the film is based.
The walking-talking six-pack really upped his game in 2012, providing barrels of laughs in 21 Jump Street, and then leaving the ladies panting and the guys chuckling in Magic Mike. And now he’s looking to even show off his moves behind the camera.
Magic Mike made a whopping $154 million worldwide from a budget of just $7 million (clearly they saved on costumes), which in Hollywood speak means that a sequel is inevitable. But with acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh recently announcing a hiatus from directing after he completes work on his Liberace biopic, Behind the Candelabra, that will leave the director’s seat rather empty.
Well, nobody can ever accuse Tatum of not being ambitious, as he’s now revealed to German movie site Filmstarts that along with his current producing role, that he’d like to handle the directing on this one as well. Just think about that for a second: Channing Tatum replacing Steven Soderbergh as director. Yeah, it leaves me cross-eyed as well.
And as for what this sequel would be about, well Tatum’s screenwriting and producing partner Reid Carolin, revealed that they’ve already been discussing it and have a direction for the story:
“You know, we are talking a lot about it. We have a story, and it is really ridiculous and fun. It’s a road movie sort of thing, where a bunch of strippers get back together. It’s more of a broad comedy. I don’t know whether it will happen or not.”
That last caveat is of course due to the fact that Tatum and Reid may not have time in their schedules for a sequel right now due to already working on the Broadway version of the film. Yes, Broadway. Channing Tatum is apparently the new Entertainment Emperor and he really isn’t wearing any clothes.
Last Updated: September 12, 2012
