The cinematic event of the year, Magic Mike’s Last Dance, won’t get a cinematic release after all. Probably.
Director Steven Soderbergh confirmed that the movie would be released on HBO Max. While a release date has not been set, the option to have it be released in theaters is still on the table, according to Soderbergh. “It’s certainly hard to argue that this isn’t a movie that’s best seen in a theater, because we have the data. People, primarily women, were going in packs, in large groups, to see the Magic Mike movies,” the director confirmed to Variety. There is truly nothing quite like a “pack of women” dreamily looking at Channing Tatum on the screen to bring movie theaters back in business!
While the details of the movie are still pretty slim, Soderbergh gave a sneak peek into what fans can expect from the third installment in the franchise, which stars Tatum alongside Salma Hayek. “The movie is sort of a fictionalized procedural on how Mike comes up with the idea of a show — and then the obstacles, of which there are many, to trying to realize his vision of what this new thing could be.” Soderbergh explained, adding “It’s a variation on All That Jazz.” If anything, this means it should be in more movie theaters.
While this is the third and final movie in the series, Soderbergh is open to more content in the future. “There are stories that can be told that have the same sort of ethos and are tackling the same subjects that still involve dance but don’t have Mike Lane in them,” Soderbergh adds.
Perhaps there will be an HBO prequel series a la Euphoria that stars Channing Tatum as his former high school self learning to dance? Just an idea.