Though we’ve known for quite a while that the audacious comedy was to be given a sequel, during Sony Pictures’ event at CinemaCon, the studio confirmed that 21 Jump Street 2 will be released sometime in 2014. Other than a logo being shown, the bulk of the details remained behind closed doors, but you have to imagine the follow-up will see Schmidt and Jenko – played by Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, respectively – continue their crime-ridden debauchery.
When 21 Jump Street was released in 2012, it surprised pretty much everyone with its blend of astute comedy and tongue-in-cheek dialogue. Subverting genre conventions and social stereotypes, the film was as entertaining as it was intelligent, so, on a personal level, it was great to see the movie succeeding at the worldwide box office – gathering a remarkable $202 million.
Based on a late-eighties television show of the same name, the film starred the aforementioned Hill and Tatum as the two central police officers who go undercover as high school students to blow the lid off a local drugs ring. While the two characters begin within the confined stereotypical personas of popular jock and smart nerd, as the film progresses, Schmidt and Jenko’s journey is balanced with just the right dosage of emotion and hilarity that their stories are wholly believable. In truth, 21 Jump Street, for all its subtle gags and sly yet contemporary humour, holds up on the 2nd, 3rd and even 4th time you see it – believe me, I know.
Above all, it’s the script by Michael Bacall that elevated the film above the other buddy cop dramas in the genre and so it’s a huge boost for 21 Jump Street 2 that the screenwriter will return to pen the script – which, like the original, will be co-written by Jonah Hill. According to early reports, the film will begin production in September for a 2014 release, and here’s hoping that the sequel will justify its existence by retaining the spirit of the hilarious original.
21 Jump Street 2 is now firmly on the cinematic calendar for 2014. But what are your initial thoughts on the follow-up? Can Bacall, Hill & Co. capture lightning in a bottle, again? Sound off below!
