Why 23 Jump Street Never Happened

Despite the huge success and acclaim of the first two Jump Street movies in the comedy franchise, 23 Jump Street appears to have been canceled. There were not many people who thought it would be a good idea to reboot the 1980s TV show about undercover cops in high school into a comedy, but 2012's 21 Jump Street was a surprise hit and the sequel took the action to college. They both dominated the box office, with 22 Jump Street grossing over $331 million (via Box Office Mojo), so it came as a surprise that 23 Jump Street never happened.

The novelty of throwing Jenko (Channing Tatum) and Schmidt (Jonah Hill) into any kind of educational environment lends itself to tons of sequel possibilities, and the idea was even joked about at the end of the second movie. 22 Jump Street teased 25 sequels, such as 23 Jump Street: Medical School and 27 Jump Street: Culinary School, but none of them were a real possibility for the follow-up. Instead, Sony began developing a crossover with the Men in Black franchise titled MiB 23. Unfortunately, the ambitious endeavor never came to be.

Why 23 Jump Street Was Scrapped

News Of The Planned Crossover Came During The Sony Hack

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During the infamous Sony hack in November 2014, the idea for the next installment of the 21 Jump Street franchise was leaked, revealing that the studio wanted to mash it up with the next movie in the Men in Black franchise. Once the idea was out in the world, expectations became high for the crossover.

Every fake Jump Street sequel from 22 Jump Street's post-credit:

23 Jump Street: Medical School 24 Jump Street: Foreign Exchange Students 25 Jump Street: A Semester At Sea 26 Jump Street: Art School 27 Jump Street: Culinary School 28 Jump Street: Veterinary School 29 Jump Street: Sunday School 30 Jump Street: Flight Academy 31 Jump Street: Ninja Academy 32 Jump Street: Fireman School 33 Jump Street: Generations 34 Jump Street: Return of the Ghost 35 Jump Street: Traffic School 36 Jump Street: Military School 37 Jump Street: Scuba Class 38 Jump Street: Dance Academy Jump Street (video game) Jump Street: The Animated Series 39 Jump Street: The Electronic Target Game 40 Jump Street: Retirement Home 41 Jump Street: Magic School 42 Jump Street: Beauty School 43 Jump Street: Mariachi School 2121 Jump Street Infinity Jump Street

Given that 22 Jump Street made more money than the original, Sony should have just fast-tracked another quick sequel into production, but they aimed to go bigger. Unfortunately, 23 Jump Street, aka MiB 23, struggled to get past the development stage, and the attached director, James Bobin, moved on to other projects.

Was The Jump Street & Men In Black Crossover Too Ambitious?

The Failed Fourth Men In Black Movie May Have Ended The Planned Crossover For Good

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Jonah Hill believed the Jump Street and Men in Black crossover plan was too ambitious, saying (via Toronto Sun):

"It’s almost become what we were making fun of, and it’s hard to maintain that joke when it’s so high stakes.”

Hill may have a point at their overly comedic take on a big franchise was reportedly behind why MiB 23 producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller lost directorial control of Solo: A Star Wars Story. However, the Men in Black franchise is completely different and lends itself to a wacky comedy franchise like Jump Street. As both properties involve buddy-cop scenarios, it's easy to see the latter's Jenko and Schmidt replace the former's J and K.

Considering the Jump Street film series parodied franchises turning into endless cycles of sequels and reboots at the end of its own second installment, releasing a third movie could ruin the joke or come off as hypocritical. At the same time, the crossover would've perfectly played into the meta themes of the franchise and set up some classic Jump Street gags.

After all, it was already a reboot, adapted from the 21 Jump Street TV series starring Johnny Depp. Given the disappointment of the 2019 Men in Black spinoff Men in Black: International, though, Sony was better off playing things safe and canceling the overly ambitious 23 Jump Street crossover.

What The Cast Has Said About 23 Jump Street

Channing Tatum Had High Praise For The Script

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Though the project has seemingly been canceled, there are many people involved with the franchise who are still pushing for 23 Jump Street to happen after all these years. Though Jonah Hill expressed doubts about whether the planned crossover with Men in Black would work, his costar Channing Tatum has revealed that Hill is on board with making a third movie if they are given the opportunity. Tatum also went on to praise the exciting script for the movie (via IndieWire):

“There is a project that was written and it’s still the best script that I’ve ever read for a third movie. It’s just a lot of bureaucracy, kind of above the line stuff. It’s really hard to get it made and we’ve been trying to get it done.”

It is unclear if Tatum is referring to the planned crossover movie with Men in Black or if there was a different script for 23 Jump Street developed at some point. However, his comments about "bureaucracy" being one of the reasons the movie hasn't been made could be referring to the rights issues with the Men in Black franchise. But Tatum has consistently remained optimistic about the movie happening and even suggested Brad Pitt join 23 Jump Street.

Another cast member of the franchise who has spoken out about returning is Ice Cube. The legendary rapper had a standout role as the gruff and angry Captain Dixon in the first two movies. While he didn't offer any news on whether he had been approached about a third movie, Ice Cube confirmed he would return (via PopCulture):

“Yeah, man, I had a good time with Jonah Hill, Channing [Tatum], we had fun. I think people liked the films, people like Captain Dixon. So yeah, if they call me, I’ll jump in there and do it again.”

It is rare that a sequel in a hit franchise can have so much enthusiasm from fans as well as interest from the cast yet still has trouble getting made. However, with talk of 23 Jump Street still coming up years after it has seemingly been scrapped, there may still be hope for the long-awaited sequel someday.