The eight-year-awaited final installment in theMagic Miketrilogy,Magic Mike’s Last Dance, will hit theaters this Friday, February 10th 2023. Following with the past two films, Channing Tatum will reprise his role as “Magic” Mike Lane, the male stripper that put women in a frenzy when he first appeared on the screen in 2012 inMagic Mike.New to the franchise is Salma Hayek Pinault, who has already givenher thoughts on the testosterone infused film.
The first film may have owed some of its $167-million-box-office success to the shocking amount of male nudity from oh-so-sexy stars, such as Tatum, Alex Pettyfer and Matthew McConaughy. All of which are seen adorning the teeniest tiniest thongs and stripping in front of the camera. The second film in the franchise toned down the nudity a bit, but we still wouldn’t say it was for the faint of heart. Now, in the final film, directorSteven Soderberghsays they’re forgoing the nudity. To clarify, sexy dancing will still be very prominent. According toPeople, Soderbergh feels ‘it still delivers on steaminess.’ The director explains his reasoning behind the choice,
“To me, it’s aboutsexy. It’s not about the sex, per se, and whether the movie is explicit. There’s no nudity in [my 1998 film]Out of Sight. There’s no nudity inMagic Mike’s Last Dance. There’s not even a thong, and yet, it was our desire to make a sexy movie.”
Soderbergh went on to defend the choice and offer some insight into what the film is going for, in terms of ‘sexy,’
“What’s sexy is intimacy and genuine emotion. Something that feels alive, and electric, and has the potential for vulnerability. That can be sexy.”
Continuing his interview, the director talked about the radicalness of showing real relationships on the screen, where people have “been together for 20 years, and they’re still into each other in that way,” as opposed to initial attraction, “that’s easy,” Soderbergh says.
Related:Salma Hayek Says She Was ‘Typecast for a Long Time’
Channing Tatum Says He WantsMagic Mike’s Last Danceto be the “Super Bowl of Stripping”
Despite the foregone nudity, the film still revolves around strippers, and whether the male cast is rocking banana hammocks or full pants, with the previousStep Upstar at the helm, they’re bound to deliver on the dance moves - ignoring that time whenTatum almost killed Salma Hayek in a lap dance gone wrong.
Tatum had joked about not wanting to do another movie for the franchise in February of last year, “Because I have to look like that,” he said after seeing a shirtless picture of himself from the second film. Since then, Tatum has obviously come around and has voiced big desires for the final film saying,
“I want it to be the Super Bowl of stripping. I want dancing like we’ve never been able to do in the other two movies, because we had to be honest to what the reality of that world is, which isn’t great dancing.”
Fittingly,Magic Mike’s Last Dancewill premiere on Super Bowl weekend, so for all the women not into ‘sports-ball,’ head to the theater to see Channing Tatum get not-so-naked.
