Magic Mike's Last Dance director Steven Soderbergh said the upcoming comedy-drama will likely be the last in the Magic Mike series but hinted at the potential for future spinoffs.
In an interview with Total Film, Soderbergh suggested every avenue and concept during the series has been explored, eradicating the possibility of creating another installment in the Magic Mike franchise. However, he added there are enough layers to create content based on the movie series. "Right now, this film feels like an end to the Magic Mike series," he said. "I think Channing [Tatum] would probably agree. I don’t know where Mike would go from here. That being said, the avenues that I think have been opened up conceptually and philosophically still leave room to make a movie that exists in the Magic Mike universe," he said. "Like, how about a woman who lives in the suburbs, who’s inspired by the movies to try and open up her own club – a dance club, a cabaret – in suburban Atlanta? What would that be like? I think there are satellite parallel universes to open up there."
Magic Mike's Last Dance is the third installment of the Magic Mike franchise, following Magic Mike in 2012 and Magic Mike XXL in 2015. Tatum stars as Michael "Magic Mike" Lane who works a series of odd jobs to pay the bills in the hopes of launching his custom furniture business, eventually becoming a male stripper and living a life full of excess. The film series is based on Tatum's real-life experience as a stripper when he was a teenager in Tampa.
Magic Mike Takes His Final Bow
Magic Mike's Last Dance released its official trailer in November 2022, featuring Tatum's Mike and Salma Hayek, who plays a wealthy socialite. Described by Tatum as "a reverse-role Pretty Woman," the threequel will find Mike leaving a bartending job in Florida to lead a group of dancers in London. Soderberg, who also directed the franchise's first film, revealed that Last Dance will conclude with a 30-minute dance number. "We wanted to blow the dancing up in a big way," he said. "We have this dance number with Channing and Salma [Hayek] right up front. And then the last 30-plus minutes of the movie are just this giant dance sequence."
2012's Magic Mike earned $167 million on a $7 million budget and became the top-grossing dance movie ever. The sequel also proved successful, generating $122.5 million in ticket sales on a $14.8 million budget. While the 2012 film starred Tatum and Matthew McConaughey as Dallas, Mike's manager and the boss of Xquisite Strip Club, the sequel was more star-studded than its predecessor. Magic Mike XXL featured Jada Pinkett-Smith, Donald Glover, Kevin Nash, Amber Heard, Michael Strahan and the late Stephen "tWitch" Boss.
Along with Tatum, the Magic Mike threequel will star Caitlin Gerard, Vicki Pepperdine, Ayub Khan Din and Jemelia George. Soderbergh has previously directed films like the Ocean's franchise, Erin Brockovich and Traffic.
Magic Mike's Last Dance premieres in theaters on Feb. 10.
Source: Total Film