Channing Tatum Almost Rejected ‘Magic Mike 3’ Because Of Difficult Diet

Of Channing Tatum’s many films and characters, one film that he will forever be known for is “Magic Mike” and his role as Mike Lane in the film and its sequel, “Magic Mike XXL.” Tatum recently announced that there would be a third film in the franchise.

The 41-year-old also recently revealed that he almost quit the third film because of the demanding, very long, and hard fitness regimen that he had to go through. Tatum is known for his muscular frame and preference for physically challenging films, but it seems age is finally telling on the actor. Read on to find out more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mX40Bi_rR4

Tatum recently appeared on the Kelly Clarkson Show and revealed that he had a lot of doubts initially about playing the role of Mike Lane in the third film, titled “Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” and that most of his doubts were about the required prep diet.

The “Step Up” actor told Clarkson that he wasn’t sure he wanted to do a third film because he felt his body wasn’t in the right shape for the role. He said, “It’s hard even if you do work out to be in that kind of shape.”

“You have to starve yourself,” he continued. “I don’t think when you’re that lean, it’s actually healthy for you.” Tatum also admitted that the fitness training was intense, took a lot of his time, and made him realize that it’s a lot harder for him to lose weight now than when he was much younger.

However, the “Dear John” actor has made it clear that he would be interested in doing another Magic Mike when he’s old. He had an interview with IndieWire about the possibility and how director Steven Soderbergh convinced him to be in the third film.

He said, “The only one I said I’d actually do, before we decided on this version - was the ‘Grumpy Old Men’ version when we’re like 70. When we’re 70, I want to get the team back together, for sure.”

“Grumpy Old Men” was a hit comedy film released in 1993 that starred acting legends Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon as two grumpy feuding elderly men who became very good friends.

During the IndieWire interview, Tatum also revealed that he always thought the first “Magic Mike” film would be a standalone film and not the first of a series. He said, “In my opinion, we had chewed up all the meat on the bone, story-wise. Pun intended I guess.”

He continued, “They’re essentially movies about guys made for women. We didn’t plan on making a second one. Then all of our ancillary characters were so good and fun that we felt like, ‘Let’s do another movie and give those characters more real estate that we didn’t have before.’”

He then added that they felt like there wasn’t anything more to tell once they did the second film. He also revealed that he actually prefers “Magic Mike XXL” to the first “Magic Mike” because “it’s more fun and I think more of what people expected the first film to be.”

On November 29th, 2021, Tatum posted a photo of the title script for “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” on his Twitter page and captioned it, “Well, world, looks like Mike Lane’s tapping back in. @hbomax.”

https://twitter.com/channingtatum/status/1465365017935724553?s=20&t=kxDM-SNEu6ZVXHZaDbIeTQ

Asides from announcing the third film, the photo Tatum posted revealed that Soderbergh is the film’s director and that Reid Carolin wrote the script. The “Dog” actor also announced that the film would premiere exclusively on HBO Max.

Warner Bros is producing the film, and in a statement to Deadline, Chairman Toby Emmerich said, “Is there anybody on-screen more charismatic and appealing than Magic Mike? We’re thrilled to be back in business with Channing, Steven, and their creative team to bring back Magic Mike….”