23 Jump Street Needs a New Director, Script Is Finished

MovieWeb

By Brian Gallagher

Published Aug 7, 2015

Chris Miller confirms that he and his partner Phil Lord will produce the 23 Jump Street sequel, but they will not return to direct.

The careers of 21 Jump Street and 22 Jump Street directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller have skyrocketed over the past few years. They are attached to direct a Spider-Man Animated Movie for Sony Pictures and the highly-anticipated Star Wars Anthology: Han Solo Movie, which both have 2018 release dates already in place. They are also developing The Lego Movie Sequel, The LEGO Batman Movie and Ninjago and 23 Jump Street, along with their hit Fox TV series The Last Man on Earth. Earlier today, during Fox's TCA summer tour presentation, Chris Miller confirmed that they will not be directing 23 Jump Street, but they will still produce.

"We are hard at work on 23 Jump Street, which I think we will probably just produce from a time standpoint. But we've been working really hard. We've got a really good first draft of a script in and we're really excited about it."

Given the filmmakers' incredible slate, the news isn't terribly surprising. There are likely several fans who will be disappointed that this movie sequel is moving forward without Phil Lord and Chris Miller at the helm. 22 Jump Street writer Rodney Rothman wrote the 23 Jump Street script, which addresses the multiple fake sequels that showed up at the end of 22 Jump Street.

Phil Lord and Chris Miller confirmed that Rodney Rothman's script features an "outrageous idea" that makes all of those proposed 22 Jump Street a part of the movie canon. The story will, "do something that hadn't been explored in those 22 sequels and simultaneously tell the next chapter in the story." Unfortunately, no further story details were given, but it sounds like the story is firmly set in place.

Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill are expected to return as Jenko and Schmidt in the comedy movie sequel, although Channing Tatum has expressed doubts that they could pull off another sequel. It isn't known if Sony Pictures is actively seeking new directors for 23 Jump Street, or when production may begin. Are you upset that Phil Lord and Chris Miller won't be directing this follow-up? Chime in with your thoughts and stay tuned for more updates on 23 Jump Street.