Channing Tatum Returning For Final Magic Mike Movie

It’s the news your aunt has been waiting for: Channing Tatum is returning to Magic Mike.

In a surprise announcement, the actor confirmed that work has begun on the third and final Magic Mike movie, titled Magic Mike’s Last Dance, with Steven Soderbergh returning to direct. Appropriately, the announcement comes ahead of the release of Tatum’s upcoming rom-com The Lost City of D.

Tatum is set to reprise his role as Mike Lane – a male stripper loosely based on the actor’s own experiences working as a stripper in Florida – more than six years after appearing in Magic Mike XXL.

It’s not clear whether any of the other cast from the first two movies – which included Matthew McConaughey, Alex Pettyfer and Joe Mangianello – will also return.

Revealing the news in a tweet, Tatum shared an image of the front page of the film’s script, writing, ‘Well world, looks like Mike Lane’s tapping back in.’

Unsurprisingly, the announcement immediately caused a storm on social media, as fans of the cult films raced to declare their excitement.

‘My wife got to tell me that she was pregnant with our first child, and i got to tell her that Channing Tatum is returning for Magic Mike 3. basically the same reaction,’ IndieWire critic David Ehrlich tweeted, with another person commenting, ‘As someone who will argue that MAGIC MIKE XXL is one of the funniest movies ever made, this is excellent news for me.’

As well as a critically successful sequel, the film also inspired the Las Vegas stage show Magic Mike Live, and helped see Channing Tatum crowned PEOPLE’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ in 2012.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance will premiere exclusively on HBO Max, with a release date yet to be announced.