Female-led Jump Street movie still a top priority for Sony

October 2nd 2018, 10:14am

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

The first two JUMP STREET (21 & 22 JUMP STREET) movies with Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum were smash hits, earning over $500 million combined and getting fantastic reviews, a rarity for the buddy cop genre. As a bonafide hit series, it’s a shock the studio didn’t get into 23 JUMP STREET, instead spending time trying to jump-start an ill-advised mashup with the MEN IN BLACK movies. Instead of delivering the third movie the studio seems to think it’s time for a reboot already, and word is they are making a female-led take on the story a top priority.

In Variety’s report about the upcoming slate of sequels coming from Columbia/Sony Pictures (including BAD BOYS 3 and JUMANJI 3), there is news that Sony is moving away from the JUMP STREET/MIB mix and going deep into the female-led version, which would send two cops back to high school to investigate shady dealings in a hilarious fashion.

“We think that there’s something fun about keeping that irreverent spirit of ‘Jump Street,’ but maybe having it be told through a female undercover cop point-of-view,” said Sanford Panitch, Columbia Pictures president. “We’ve had enough male buddy comedies. The script is really funny and has a freshness to it.”

While a 23 JUMP STREET was being planned after the release of 22 JUMP STREET, that fell apart and in early 2015 it was rumored a female-led version was in the works. Going through various stages of the writing process, Rodney Rothman, who co-wrote the first two movies, wrote the latest draft and has been tapped to direct. No word yet on where they are at in the process, and they still have to find their funny leading ladies.

This feels like a chance to do a soft reboot of the series, even though it doesn’t feel all that necessary. 23 JUMP STREET may not have worked, and the meta, self-referential humor could’ve fallen flat during a third outing. Still, it seems weird to be talking about this series as if it’s been long-dormant and in need of a resurrection. I’d like to see what they can come up with for the female-led version, and with the right cast it could be great, but at this point, I’m not 100 percent sold. I still laugh at those movies just thinking about Rob Riggle’s crazy work, so yeah, that’s all I need right now.