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Steven Soderbergh has revealed that ‘Magic Mike's Last Dance' is inspired by the stage show.
The 59-year-old director is returning to helm the third film in the ‘Magic Mike' franchise – billed as the final movie for Channing Tatum's stripper Mike Lane – and explained that the theatre show has influenced the flick.
Speaking to Variety, Steven said: “The movie is sort of a fictionalised procedural on how Mike comes up with the idea of a show – and then the obstacles, of which there are many, to trying to realise his vision of what this new thing could be.
“It's a variation of ‘All That Jazz'.”
‘Magic Mike's Last Dance' is set to premiere on the streaming service HBO Max but Steven suggested that it could still have a run in the cinema.
The ‘Traffic' director said: “We're talking about it.
“It's certainly hard to argue that this isn't a movie that's best seen in a theatre, because we have the data. People, primarily women, were going in packs, in large groups, to see the ‘Magic Mike' movies.”
Steven revealed that ‘Magic Mike's Last Dance' is likely to be the final film in the series but suggested that spin-offs could be developed with characters other than Mike Lane.
He explained: “I think there are other things to be done within what I consider now to be a larger ‘Magic Mike' universe.
“There are stories that can be told that have the same sort of ethos and are tackling the same subjects that still involve dance but don't have Mike Lane in them.”
The film's production hit a rocky patch when Thandiwe Newton was replaced by Salma Hayek after shooting began but Steven says the actress has been a capable member of the cast.
Soderbergh said: “I hadn't seen Salma in 22 years after she did a little bit part in ‘Traffic'.
“She just brings so much to the table. Anybody that spent any amount of time with Salma will see that there is so much of Salma in this movie.”
