Channing Tatum Says Never-Made ’23 Jump Street’ Had the ‘Best Script I’ve Ever Read for a Third Movie’: ‘I Would Love to Do It’ and Jonah Hill ‘Wants to Do It’

Channing Tatum recently told ComicBook.com that he is still very much interested in making “23 Jump Street” with Jonah Hill. The film would serve as a sequel to their R-rated comedy blockbusters “21 Jump Street” (2012) and “22 Jump Street” (2014).

A third movie was officially put in development by Sony Pictures in Sept. 2014 with “22 Jump Street” scribe Rodney Rothman hired to pen the script. It was then revealed a few months later during the notorious Sony hack that “23 Jump Street” was being designed as a crossover with the “Men in Black” franchise. Variety reported in March 2016 the crossover film was moving forward with director James Bobin, but it ultimately never got off the ground.

More from Variety

“There is a project that was written and it’s still the best script that I’ve ever read for a third movie,” Tatum told ComicBook.com, while promoting his upcoming movie “Fly Me to the Moon.” He added that the sequel was never made because of “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,'” Tatum added. “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.”

Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, 2012’s “21 Jump Street” was a box office hit with $200 million worldwide. The 2014 sequel was even bigger with $331 million worldwide.

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.