23 Jump Street Gets Green-light As Well As Female Lead Spinoff and Men In Black crossover
As you probably remember, last year’s blockbuster smash “22 Jump Street” ended with a hilarious slew of fake trailers for several pretend sequels. Jenko and Schmidt go to medical school! Then culinary school! Then ninja academy!
The gag was an obvious dig at the film industry’s obsession with sequel mania, and now it looks like things have really come full circle. Not only is Sony Pictures already working on “23 Jump Street,” which will reunite dream team Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, but the studio is also preparing a female-driven spinoff AND a franchise crossover with “Men in Black.”
First things first: Sony has reportedly tapped “Broad City” writers Lucia Aniello and Paul Downs to pen one of two scripts for the planned estrogen-infused spinoff. No word yet on whether the project will center around new characters or bring back the tag team of undercover officers from the 2012 original played by Dakota Johnson and Rye Rye (though that seems pretty unlikely, in our opinion).
In any case, between this new project and the Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy-led “Ghostbusters” reboot slated for release next year, it sounds like Hollywood’s finally giving female-driven blockbusters their moment to shine.
The other newly announced project — a franchise crossover with “Men In Black” — is something that’s been speculated upon in the past. In a series of leaked emails last year, Hill called the idea “clean and rad and powerful.” And in January, “21 Jump Street” and “22 Jump Street” directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller told MTV News it was an idea they were definitely interested in.
“Nothing’s changed. It’s still a crazy idea, and we only do things that seem like they’re going to be terrible,” Lord said. “We’re really focusing on what’s a great story for Schmidt and Jenko and how to tell the next chapter in their lives. And perhaps use creatures from another world at the same time.”
Now that it’s officially happening, we’re anxiously awaiting new details. Lord and Miller haven’t commented on whether they’re hoping to bring back Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, or even Josh Brolin. In any case, let’s all just bask in the glorious imagining of Jenko and Schmidt busting each other’s balls in a crazy alien-infested universe. HERE FOR IT.
