'24 Jump Street' in the works; Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum to return

'24 Jump Street' is in development with Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, and Ice Cube in talks to reprise their roles. Rodney Rothman will direct, with Phil Lord and Chris Miller returning as producers for the highly anticipated third installment.

'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, reported Variety.

Returning Cast and Crew

According to outlet, Rodney Rothman 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.

Franchise's Previous Success

According to Variety, '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 USD 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 USD million box office haul.

The Journey to a Third Film

According to Variety, 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.)

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. (ANI)

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