21 Jump Street got the reboot treatment in 2012 when the original TV series was made into a movie starring Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, and Ice Cube. It was a huge hit that made over $200 million at the worldwide box office. Its equally successful sequel, 22 Jump Street, came out in 2014. A third movie, 23 Jump Street, was reportedly in the works as a crossover with the Men in Black franchise, but things fell through.

After more than a decade in developmental limbo, it looks like a third 21 Jump Street movie is finally going to happen. According to an exclusive report in Variety, 24 Jump Street is a go. There’s already a script, which was co-written by Hill. Rodney Rothman is on board as director. Channing, Jonah, and Ice Cube are in talks to reprise their roles, too. Here are some more details from Variety:

“24 Jump Street” is in the works, and stars Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum and Ice Cube are in talks to return for the third installment in the R-rated crime comedy franchise.

Rodney Rothman (“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”) will direct the film and wrote the script with Hill and Meghan Malloy. Also returning are producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller — who helmed the first two films, 2012’s “21 Jump Street” and 2014’s “22 Jump Street” — and Neal H. Moritz. Tatum and Reid Carolin are producing for Free Association, as are Hill and Matt Dines under their Strong Baby banner.

“21 Jump Street” starred Hill and Tatum as Schmidt and Jenko, a couple of underachieving cops who go undercover at a local high school to take down a drug ring. The film, which marked Lord and Miller’s live-action directorial debut, grossed more than $200 million worldwide. Ice Cube plays their superior, Captain Dickson. The sequel, which saw the Hill and Tatum repeat their undercover schtick in college, topped that total with a $331 million box office haul.

A third installment of the successful “Jump Street” film franchise has been in development at Sony for more than a decade. Tatum once described the script for the since-scrapped “23 Jump Street” as “the best script that I’ve ever read for a third movie.” (That film was designed as a crossover with Sony’s blockbuster “Men in Black” franchise.)

Why skip ahead to “24 Jump Street”?

For starters, Sony’s “Jump Street” movies are already a self-aware reboot of the 1980s television series starring Johnny Depp. Plus, the coda to “22 Jump Street” sees Schmidt and Jenko take on a series of other undercover missions that could serve as a potential “23 Jump Street.” The duo infiltrate a medical school, culinary school, firefighter school, dance school and seminary, then go to space and eventually become a video game and an animated series. Thus, Sony titling the forthcoming film “24 Jump Street” continues the running gag.

At present, Tatum only has an offer to return for “24 Jump Street”; negotiations are expected to take place soon.

[From Variety]

Heh, the “24 Jump Street” bit is clever, but I had to read the explanation twice before I understood it. It sounds like a fun premise. That said, I really enjoyed 21 Jump Street. I thought 22 was fine, too. I’m a big fan of action/crime comedies, though, so I know I’ll end up seeing this movie. It probably won’t be a cinematic masterpiece, but I can get behind it. It will likely be dumb, escapist fun, especially if Tatum, Hill, and Ice Cube come back. I’m also assuming that their casting is a done deal if Variety is announcing it while also noting that Hill co-wrote the script. While I’m nostalgic enough to look forward to all the sequels and reboots being thrown at us, I also long for new material. The success of original movies like Backrooms and Obsession will hopefully translate to original action comedies being greenlit.

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