**Update: **turn that dial from "may" to "will". Sony has just announced that Channing is officially part of the cast, starring with Jonah Hill.
We’ve been hearing about the 21 Jump Street film for so long now that it feels odd to think that it’s actually going to start shooting next year. And while we still have our concerns about the quality, we’re putting our trust in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller and creative spearhead Jonah Hill. The team appears to be locking in their first name actor, with Channing Tatum about to start negotiations to star alongside Hill.
Deadline reports that Tatum has apparently leapfrogged to the top of the list for casting, and while his role isn’t completely clear yet, the team over at Hitfix had a gander at one draft of the script and have revealed that Tatum would play Hill's cop partner. Oh, and that it's planned as a flat out raunchy comedy - think The Other Guys with even more filfthy jokes.
The original TV show, of course, launched in 1987 under the guidance of producing legend Stephen J Cannell and helped the career of several actors, including launching Johnny Depp on his road to stardom. Hill has been trying to get the movie made for a while now (while hoping Depp might agree to at least cameo) and has cranked out a script with Scott Pilgrim’s Michael Bacall with work from the **Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol **team of Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec.
21 Jump Street will arrive on April 20, 2012.