With the cameras set to start cranking soon and the male strippers donning their velcro'ed trousers once again, Magic Mike XXL director Gregory Jacobs seems committed to balancing out the cast’s gender mix for the sequel. Andie MacDowell and Jada Pinkett Smith have recently been announced and now Amber Heard will also be joining the new film.
With Channing Tatum back co-writing and starring, Magic Mike XXL promises to be a very different film from the original, taking Tatum’s Mike and Alex Pettyfer, Matt Bomer and Joe Manganiello on a road trip. Heard’s character has yet to be revealed, though she has apparently snagged one of the main roles.
One veteran of the original who won’t be boarding the bus is Matthew McConaughey. Jacobs let slip that he’s not returning a few days ago and now The Wrap reports it’s for a mundane reason: his schedule on Gus Van Sant’s S****ea Of Trees will clash with Mike’s shoot.
The director is working alongside Steven Soderbergh, who made the original but is stepping back to “only” act as cinematographer, producer and editor this time. **Magic Mike XXL **is scheduled to strut into our cinemas on August 7 next year.