Well, it sounds like that long-discussed crossover movie between 21 Jump Street and the Men in Black franchise may not happen after all. Word first surfaced about the project in the midst of the Sony hack, but it became more “real” earlier this year when Sony Pictures entered talks with The Muppets and Alice Through the Looking Glass helmer James Bobin to direct. 21 Jump Street and 22 Jump Street directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller are busy working on the Han Solo movie at the moment and were thus expected to only produce the picture, but it was seen as a way to organically continue the Jump Street franchise while simultaneously rebooting the studio’s highly lucrative Men in Black series.
With Bobin in line to direct, it seemed as though MiB 23 was moving full speed ahead, but Jonah Hill now tells the Toronto Sun (via THR) that the film is unlikely to happen.
“I had the idea, but I doubt that movie will ever get made. They’re trying to make all the deals, but it’s kind of impossible with all the Men in Black stuff. The Jump Street films were so fun to make and the whole joke of them was they were making fun of remakes and sequels and reboots and then now it’s become a giant sequel, reboot. It’s almost become what we were making fun of and it’s hard to maintain that joke when it’s so high stakes.”
It’s not hard to imagine the development of MiB 23 creating the exact kind of film the movie was intended to poke fun at, so one can understand Hill’s thinking. What made the Jump Street movies great was their willingness to upend convention and constantly subvert expectations. But when you’re dealing with hundreds of millions of dollars, large-scale effects, and rebooting a massive property, the studio’s likely going to want to err on the side of convention.
Hill was more optimistic about a proper sequel to 22 Jump Street, expressing his enthusiasm for working with Channing Tatum, Lord and Miller again, but given the busy schedules, if 23 Jump Street happens it won't be anytime soon. For now, Sony has yet to officially greenlight or cancel MiB 23, but it doesn’t look good.
