In a roundtable discussion featuring Steven Soderbergh and Zoe Kravitz about their film KIMI, the director briefly spoke about the highly anticipated third installment of the Magic Mike storyline, titled Magic Mike's Last Dance. Soderbergh also spoke about encouraging Channing Tatum to carry on the story, which is, in part, an inspiration for Tatum's time as a stripper in Tampa, Florida.
Soderbergh directed Magic Mike, which was released in 2012. The film was a massive success with critics and audiences, who not only praised the sexy attraction and dance sequences but also the script, direction and the performances. Tatum starred alongside Alex Pettyfer, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, and Matthew McConaughey. Bomer and Manganiello will also be back with Tatum for the sequel to Magic Mike XXL, this time directed by Gregory Jacobs, who was the first assistant director on the first film. The sequel was another success both critically and financially.
When Magic Mike's Last Dance movie was still just one of many concepts, Soderbergh remembers pointing to it as the project Tatum should focus on. He said that when Tatum pitched the idea in the setting of Haywire and it instantly got his attention. Later, when the story was complete, Soderbergh was eager to join in to make the idea a realisation.
With a third film in the works, which was that was announced in November, with the title Magic Mike's Last Dance, Soderbergh gave us a hint of what's to come when the film's final scene airs. He said that although he was sure that his Magic Mike concept would be an enormous success, he didn't realize that Tatum was looking to expand the world of the film into a larger area, one that dealt with relationships, masculinity and respect, which expanded in the second movie.
"The third movie is kind like the culmination of all that we've been discussing in this subject. The dance isn't just taken to the next stage, but also exploring the aspect of relationships that has been the main focus of all of the films. Mike has a romantic relationship that's central to this movie, while everything else happens. This is the first time we've done it."
While Last Dance could very well be Mike Lane's final dance Soderbergh's return to his series is a thrilling development. After the XXL sequel we've made it to the top of the mountain, however, there's more to reveal about Mike's story.