Magic Mike XXL takes the Xquisite Strip Club dancers on a road trip from Tampa to a strippers’ convention in Myrtle Beach
Warner Bros.' Magic Mike XXL, the sequel to the 2012 box office hit Magic Mike, is scheduled for release to US theaters on July 3. As with the first film, Channing Tatum stars and co-produces. This time, he also co-writes with Reid Carolin the script for the movie that is loosely based on his own experiences as a male stripper during his early days in Tampa, Florida. Gregory Jacobs directs with Steven Soderbergh doing the cinematography and the editing. According to the film's synopsis, the dancers of Dallas' Xquisite Strip Club will be going on a road trip that will take them from their homebase in Tampa to Myrtle Beach in northeastern South Carolina for a 'stripping convention.'
Returning with Tatum's Magic Mike are Matt Bomer as Ken, Joe Manganiello as Big Dick Richie, Kevin Nash as Tarzan, Adam Rodriguez as Tito, and Gabriel Iglesias as Tobias. Others in the cast include Andie MacDowell, Amber Heard, Jada Pinkett Smith, Elizabeth Banks, Jane McNeill, Donald Glover, Michael Strahan, Stephen 'tWitch' Boss, Billy Reilich, Christian Boeving, and Ric Flair.
On what to expect from the sequel, Tatum in an interview with MTV said: "We don't want to make it some serious slice-of-life movie. We want to have real, like reality in it, but we don't want to make like some dark drama. There was some darkness in the last movie and I think it surprised people and shocked people. This one, we want to have a lot of conflict and a lot of struggle, but we also want there to be a sh- ton of fun. A sh- ton of ridiculous stuff that you would never see in a movie, on the face of the earth, ever again."
The first Magic Mike movie proved to be a box office hit, making $167,221,571 worldwide against a modest $7 million production budget. Better still, Magic Mike has received mostly positive reviews from the critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave it an 80% approval rating, with a critical consensus that says: "Magic Mike 's sensitive direction, smart screenplay, and strong performances allows audiences to have their beefcake and eat it too."