Jonah Hill: ‘Men In Black,’ ’22 Jump Street’ Crossover Too Complicated To Make
Jonah Hill thinks the proposed Men in Black and 22 Jump Street crossover movie wouldn’t work, even though he claims he came up with the idea. While it may be difficult to take his opinion seriously with the roles he usually plays, he might have a point.
Men in Black is known for being founded on two intergalactic officers (and polar opposites) partnering up to save the world from knowledge of extraterrestrial life. As Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) said in the first one, “the only way they can move along with their happy lives is that they do not know about it.”
The Jump Street films, based on the Johnny Depp TV series from the 80s, is about two polar opposite police officers who take down ordinary criminals. They are the kinds of people who the Men in Black would be keeping out of the loop about alien life. The only people who get to keep the knowledge of extraterrestrial life are the ones who prove they can physically and mentally handle the fight against aliens.
Jonah Hill’s character in 22 Jump Street is quite out of shape, and Channing Tatum‘s character tends to be on the dumb side. Neither would be welcome recruits, so the two storylines couldn’t easily intersect.
The idea for the crossover came from Sony’s hacked emails in 2014, when the title and logo for “MIB 23” was discovered. Theories and even photoshopped images of Jonah and Channing erupted from this rumor, but Hill believes it would be impossible.
“I had the idea. But I doubt that movie will get made. It’s too complicated. They’re trying to make all the deals, but it’s kind of impossible with all the Men in Black stuff. The Jump Street films were so fun to make and the whole joke of them was they were making fun of remakes and sequels and reboots and then now it’s become a giant sequel, reboot. It’s almost become what we were making fun of and it’s hard to maintain that joke when it’s so high stakes. I love Channing and I love (directors) Phil Lord and Chris Miller and I love making those movies — they’re a lot of fun. So I hope it works out.”
Last April, Chris Miller and Phil Lord, the creative minds behind 22 Jump Street, confirmed that the sequels promised at the end of the film would be canon. However, the two are now involved in something much bigger and more serious in nature. The Han Solo movie is underway, and will probably follow Star Wars Episode 8. Scheduling alone for MiB 23 would be a nightmare, says Jonah Hill.
Jonah Hill doubts the ’23 Jump Street-Men in Black’ crossover movie will get made https://t.co/TEpf0nVapw pic.twitter.com/Y4tRjiwdCK
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) August 10, 2016
It is also rumored that Sony is planning a reboot trilogy for Men in Black, featuring new, younger actors. This could be a mistake, as the chemistry between Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones made the current trilogy classics, even if the second one was almost terrible.
#MIB23 ’23 Jump Street’ and ‘Men in Black’ Crossover Movie Might Get Canned, Jonah Hill Says https://t.co/D708xV6E6i
— AceShowbiz (@aceshowbiz) August 11, 2016
Since the leaked Sony emails, it seems the Men in Black and 22 Jump Street crossover has been canceled, since the converging of the two storylines would be so tricky to pull off. Sony is also currently dealing with another box office failure in the Ghostbusters reboot.
A 23 Jump Street would be welcome, both by fans and Jonah Hill, but it would probably have to come after the Han Solo movie. Sony might eventually even come to the conclusion that reboots won’t work.
[Image via Sony Pictures]
