Channing Tatum Is Readying Up To Strip Down For The Last Time In ‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’

It’s time to saddle up and press play on Ginuwine’s “Pony” one last time — after nearly a decade, the Magic Mike trilogy is officially coming to an end. While the news comes as a blow to fans of the comedic drama (and washboard abs), the good news is three of the series’ biggest players have all agreed to return for Magic Mike’s Last Dance: director Steven Soderbergh, writer Reid Carolin, and the magic man himself, Channing Tatum. Tatum took to Twitter to share the big news earlier today, writing “well world, looks like Mike Lane’s tapping back in” before tagging HBO Max in the post and sharing a screenshot of the film’s script.

According to Deadline, the upcoming film will be a direct sequel to 2015’s Magic Mike XXL, and follows Mike Lane’s (Tatum) final foray into the world of male stripping. As of right now, there’s been no word on if fellow XXL stars, such as Matt Bomer, Kevin Nash, and Joe Manganiello, will return for the final entry in the series, nor when it’s slated to release. However, the outlet did confirm the movie will be coming exclusively to HBO Max, a fact the streaming service is “thrilled” about.

“Is there anybody on screen more charismatic and appealing than Magic Mike?” said Toby Emmerich, Chairman of Warner Bros. Pictures Group. “We’re thrilled to be back in business with Channing, Steven and their creative team to bring back Magic Mike’s wonderful combination of dance, drama, romance and humor.”

However, while this might be the final Magic Mike movie, the importance of the series cannot be understated. When the first two films were released in 2012 and 2015 respectively, they grossed nearly $300 million worldwide and ultimately helped popularize male stripping acts such as Thunder From Down Under and Chippendales. In 2017, the franchise spawned the successful stage show Magic Mike Live, which launched in Las Vegas before quickly expanding internationally. Just this year, Magic Mike Live announced its first-ever multi-year North American tour, which launches April 6, 2022 in Nashville with additional cities to be announced. These stage shows then in turn led to the creation of HBO Max’s exclusive reality competition series, Finding Magic Mike, which premieres this holiday season on December 16 –just in time for all your not-so-family-friendly Christmas get-togethers.