Why the 'Jump Street' team skipped 23 and returned with '24 Jump Street'

Highlights

• 24 Jump Street is in development with Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum and Ice Cube in talks to return.
• The new film arrives more than a decade after 22 Jump Street was released in 2014.
• Rodney Rothman will direct from a script he co-wrote with Hill and Meghan Malloy.
• The title continues a long-running franchise joke after plans for 23 Jump Street were abandoned.

Why the franchise is skipping 23 Jump Street

More than a decade after 22 Jump Street became a box-office hit, Sony is reviving the comedy franchise with an unusually titled sequel.

24 Jump Street is now in development, with Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum and Ice Cube in discussions to reprise their roles. The announcement has raised an obvious question among fans: what happened to 23 Jump Street?

The answer lies in the franchise's history. Sony spent years exploring a third instalment, including a proposed crossover with the Men in Black series, but those plans never moved forward. By jumping straight to 24 Jump Street, the filmmakers are turning the missing sequel into part of the franchise's trademark self-aware humour.

Original creative team reunites

The new instalment will be directed by Rodney Rothman, who co-wrote the screenplay with Hill and Meghan Malloy.

Several of the franchise's key creative figures are also returning. Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who directed 21 Jump Street and 22 Jump Street, are back as producers alongside Neal H. Moritz. Tatum and Reid Carolin will produce through Free Association, while Hill and Matt Dines are producing under the Strong Baby banner.

The franchise began with 21 Jump Street in 2012, which followed police officers Schmidt and Jenko as they went undercover at a high school to dismantle a drug ring. The film grossed more than £148 million worldwide and helped launch a successful comedy franchise. Its sequel, 22 Jump Street, shifted the action to a college campus and proved even more popular, taking in around £245 million globally.

A joke years in the making

The title 24 Jump Street also extends a running gag established at the end of 22 Jump Street. The sequel's closing montage imagined Schmidt and Jenko taking on an endless series of increasingly absurd undercover assignments, poking fun at Hollywood's appetite for sequels.

More than 10 years later, the franchise appears ready to continue that joke while finally delivering another chapter in the story.

Ice Cube is expected to return as Captain Dickson, while negotiations with the cast remain ongoing. Tatum is currently reported to have received a formal offer, with further discussions expected as the project progresses.

Why audiences are still interested

When 21 Jump Street arrived in 2012, few expected a film based on an 1980s television series to become one of Hollywood's most successful comedy reboots. The first two films blended action, satire and self-referential humour, creating a franchise that regularly mocked sequel culture while benefiting from it.

With 24 Jump Street, the series gets another opportunity to revisit that formula and bring Schmidt and Jenko back to the big screen after a lengthy absence.