Channing Tatum isn’t one to beat a dead pony. Speaking to an audience at Cannes Lions, the Magic Mike and Magic Mike XXL star revealed that there are no plans for a third Magic Mike film—instead, the franchise will be segued into two stage shows.
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Magic Mike shows in our future include a Vegas dance performance, as well as a Broadway musical (Tatum wouldn’t specify who will direct the latter, but he described them as “brilliant, brilliant”). He also explained how the Magic Mike story needs to evolve to focus on more than the men from the films:
The third installment will be the show, and I think it has to evolve past these guys. The first one was about Mike, the second one was about the guys and I think the third one is really about man and woman having a conversation about sex and themselves and who we all are. That’s the next step I would like to take with the story.
Tatum also stressed the need to take time crafting the story to where it needs to be: “It’s tough, because you don’t want to just come out with all this stuff. We are slowly boiling down [ideas] to see which one works.”
Magic Mike XXL was one of my favorite movies of 2015, but I’m glad that Warner Bros. isn’t rushing to make a third film—not just because I felt like the story came to a natural conclusion, but also because I’d worry that the third film might not live up to the standard set by XXL. How high a standard could a road-trip dance movie starring the werewolf from Jupiter Ascending set, you ask? Pretty damn high.
Magic Mike XXLÂ was earnest and humble in its mission to venerate women, examined issues of class, explored what ‘the female gaze’ even means, and had surprisingly positive bi representation. It wasn’t perfect, but it set out to appeal to women in a way that the overwhelming majority of movies do not. I’d love to see more films explore that theme, but I also want the Magic Mike film franchise to end on that triumphant, unsullied climax.
I’m definitely stoked to see how Magic Mike continues to explore some of those  themes with the stage shows, particularly if those productions move beyond focusing on Mike and his friends. I’d also love to see a female director attached to at least one of those plays—for all Magic Mike XXL focused on appealing to and positively representing women, the franchise overall still has few women behind the scenes.
(via Collider)
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
Follow The Mary Sue on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, & Google+.
