Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum Return for “22 Jump Street”

It seemed like a joke at the time – the 2012 adaptation of the cult 1980s television 21 Jump Street, a series that helped launch Johnny Depp into the throes of mainstream audiences would see a reboot as a comedy – yet once the quirky, winky Channing Tatum-Jonah Hill comedy became a surprise sleeper hit, it was the naysayers that had to eat their words.  Now the team is back, along with directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, the forthcoming The Lego Movie) for the sequel, cleverly titled 22 Jump Street.

Much seems to be same, as with as the premise of bumbling officers Jenko and Schmidt go undercover as students to infiltrate a drug ring. This time they’re heading to college while headquarters have moved an address over, adding slightly to the super-aware meta-mechanics at work. Michael Bacall, Rodney Rothman and Oren Uziel wrote the screenplay, with Bacall and Hill receiving story by credits.

The formula appears intact in the first teaser for the recently wrapped film; however, the actors have grown in stature since the first film.  Hill, who had just received a surprise Oscar nomination for his about-face turn in the film Moneyball when 21 Jump Street headed into to theaters has parlayed his success with turns in the summer hit This Is the End and appearing the soon-to-be released The Wolf of Wall Street directed by Martin Scorsese, which just last week earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy.)  Tatum, on the other hand, has become one of the bankable stars since then with turns in Magic Mike and G.I. Retaliation, with next year being a potentially big year for him as with roles in Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher and the Washowski’s Jupiter Ascending.  22 Jump Street will open June 13, 2014.