Channing Tatum (Dear John) is poised to star opposite Jonah Hill (Get Him to the Greek) in the remake of 21 Jump Street.  Deadline reports Sony met with a slew of young male actors, and found that Tatum had the best chemistry with Hill.

If cast, Tatum would play a fresh faced cop who goes undercover with Hill to bust some high school punks.  Hill, who co-wrote the script with Michael Bacall (Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World), says the remake is like “a John Hughes movie with Bad Boys-style action.”  Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) are directing.  21 Jump Street is set to hit theaters in March 16, 2012.  Hit the jump for a synopsis of the 1987-1991 TV series, which launched Johnny Depp's career.

Courtesy of Wikipedia:

The show is about a group of young cops whose youthful appearances enabled them to work undercover in both high schools and sometimes colleges to catch troubled youths. The show's plots covered typical issues of its time, including alcoholism, hate crimes, drug abuse, gay rights, AIDS, child abuse, and sexual promiscuity. Similarly, each problem was often solved by the end of the hour long show, giving an implicit moral about the impact of a particular activity. When the show originally aired, some episodes were followed immediately by public service announcements featuring cast members.

I've always kinda liked Tatum, though I can't identify a single example of his work that I've specifically, you know, enjoyed.  At this stage, the only explanation is that I'm profoundly attracted to his abs him.  That shakes me.  It'd be nice to have something to point to when I argue his merits, and 21 Jump Street could very well be that case study.

I'm assuming he'd fulfill the role of credible action star amid an otherwise zany comedy.  A sufficient performance doesn't  drag down the funny; a good performance actually contributes to the laughs.  Am I crazy to think Tatum has it in him?  Something that launches him on the career arc of, say, Mark Wahlberg?  Eh, probably.

Tatum will next be seen in the Ron Howard dramedy The Dilemma.