When we first heard — thanks to the 2014 Sony hack — that a crossover between the Men in Black and 21 Jump Street movie universes was in the works, we laughed. Hard. But then, when the studio moved forward with it, we really started to like the idea. A lot. How can they take it away from us now?
Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum in 22 Jump Street
They can, because that’s show biz. The movie — which had a title (MIB 23) and a prospective director (The Muppets‘ James Bobin), not to mention a literal galaxy of plot possibilities — may never happen, according to Jump Street star Jonah Hill, the guy who came up with the insane crossover idea in the first place.
Feast thine eyes and weep at what he told the Toronto Sun:
“It’s too complicated,” Hill concedes. “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.”
Still, Hill, who co-wrote both Jump Street films and had the idea for this week’s Sausage Party, hopes Jenko and Schmidt return for a third instalment.
“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.”
So do we, Jonah. So do we.