'24 Jump Street' Officially in Development with Original Stars
When Sony first attempted to revive a gritty 1980s television drama about youthful undercover cops, the project was widely dismissed as a lazy cash grab. Instead, it became a massive box office powerhouse that completely rewrote the playbook for modern action-comedies.
Now, after more than a decade of false starts, developmental purgatory, and wild franchise crossover rumors, another 21 Jump Street spinoff flick is in the works.
An exclusive report from Variety has officially confirmed that 24 Jump Street is actively in development at Columbia Pictures. Even better for fans of the R-rated juggernaut, franchise anchors Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, and Ice Cube are all currently in active talks to reprise their legendary roles for the third theatrical installment.
Why Sony is Brazenly Skipping '23 Jump Street'
For casual fans looking at the sudden announcement, the immediate and most glaring question is obvious: Why skip a numbered sequel entirely? The answer lies in the brilliant, self-referential DNA of the franchise itself. Back in 2014, the final end-credit coda for 22 Jump Street featured a legendary, rapid-fire montage poking fun at Hollywood's obsession with endless sequels.
The joke sequence showed Schmidt and Jenko taking on increasingly absurd undercover assignments, infiltrating a medical school, a culinary academy, a flight school, a seminary, and eventually launching into outer space before turning the concept into an animated cartoon.
24 Jump Street is finally in the works after 12 years with Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill and Ice Cube in talks to return
— CoveredGeekly (@CoveredGeekly) June 10, 2026
23 Jump Street will be skipped entirely
(via https://t.co/2IsCn3i6xi) pic.twitter.com/xaOD5C0xAq
By naming the brand-new, real-world project 24 Jump Street, the studio is completely leaning into the joke, establishing that the fictional, unseen events of 23 Jump Street already happened during one of those chaotic, off-screen missions.
The clever title shift also solves a decade-long logistical headache for the studio. For years, Sony attempted to mount a massive, heavily leaked crossover film titled MIB 23, which would have seen Hill and Tatum's buffoonish characters crossing paths with the sleek alien investigators from the Men in Black universe. While Channing Tatum famously teased that the script was "the best script that I've ever read for a third movie," the logistically complex crossover was ultimately scrapped, allowing the creative team to build this fresh direct sequel from scratch.
When Will '24 Jump Street' Debut?
While Channing Tatum currently holds an official studio offer to return to the gym locker room as Jenko, full contract negotiations are expected to accelerate rapidly over the summer.
With the script locked in and the core creative engine back in alignment, 24 Jump Street has instantly catapulted to the absolute front of Sony's production slate. It may have taken a decade of scrapped plans, leaked emails, and reality-bending studio concepts to get here, but the return of Hollywood's most iconic undercover duo proves that some comedic formulas are simply too big to die.
Original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller - whose live-action directorial debut with 2012's 21 Jump Street shocked critics by pulling a Spectacular 85% score on Rotten Tomatoes - are returning to spearhead the project as primary producers alongside veteran hitmaker Neal H. Moritz. Tatum and Reid Carolin are set to produce under their Free Association banner, while Hill and Matt Dines will produce under Strong Baby.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 7:17 PM.