The first trailer for Magic Mike XXL, the follow up to 2012’s Magic Mike, has been released, and the new film promises to be somewhat of a departure from the original.
Channing Tatum is back as Mike, the best male stripper out there, but this time the movie seems less serious and deep than the first one. Magic Mike was a major success in the summer of 2012, but the women who watched the original might have been surprised by the drug use and darker themes.
Tatum himself promises a lighter, broader story. Here is the Magic Mike XXL trailer:
The opening sequence of the film, set to Ginuwine’s “Pony,” hint at the lighter mood Tatum is referring to for this sequel. Here is the official synopsis of the film:
“Picking up the story three years after Mike bowed out of the stripper life at the top of his game, “Magic Mike XXL” finds the remaining Kings of Tampa likewise ready to throw in the towel. But they want to do it their way: burning down the house in one last blow-out performance in Myrtle Beach, and with legendary headliner Magic Mike sharing the spotlight with them. On the road to their final show, with whistle stops in Jacksonville and Savannah to renew old acquaintances and make new friends, Mike and the guys learn some new moves and shake off the past in surprising ways.”
Steven Soderbergh, who directed the original Magic Mike, will not return as director, though he is serving as director of photography. Soderbergh’s longtime Assistant Director Gregory Jacobs takes the helm as director.
While the tone of Magic Mike XXL in this trailer suggests a lighter mood, the aesthetic appeal of the original is still in tact thanks to Soderbergh’s involvement. Magic Mike XXL hits theaters on July 1.