At the end of 22 Jump Street, Phil Lord And Chris Miller went out on a clever send up of the "sequelization" of films in the ever-repetitive market we exist in today. With twenty different schools, academies, and venues for Detectives Jenko and Schmidt to run amok in, it seemed like a pretty good way of cutting the franchise's losses and ending on a high note. Surprise surprise though, as Sony not only didn't waste time developing 23 Jump Street, it's apparently going to treat 23 through 43 Jump Street as canon.
At this past weekend's WonderCon in Anaheim, Topless Robot reported that Phil Lord And Chris Miller revealed that 23 Jump Street might need a name change if the following plan becomes true. Phil Lord explained:
We've found a way that we love that makes those imagined sequels canonical and yet does something that we haven't told you about yet. The sequels are canon.
Let's take a moment to appreciate the fact that 27 Jump Street: Culinary School didn't bury a hatchet into Bill Hader's chest for nothing, as we'll probably hear more about that particular antic in the next 21 Jump Street sequel. Seriously though, does it really look that bad for Hader's chances of survival? Suspension of disbelieve flows strongly in this one.
Then, of course, there's the distinct possibility that fellow Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs co-star Anna Farris will get another chance to take flight in her entry in the series, 30 Jump Street: Fighter Acadamy.. With the comfort and authority that she flips twin birds at the screen, she's practically a shoo-in for another go 'round.
Or, if that all else fails and/or Jonah Hill wants a break from Schmidt's law enforcement antics, the filmmakers could always take Seth Rogen up on his willingness to fill the role in the film the Catholic School Board doesn't want you to see: 29 Jump Street: Sunday School.
23 Jump Street was always going to be a hard bargain to sell people on, as 22 Jump Street was lucky enough to bypass some of the usual sequel pitfalls and deliver a good movie. With Lord And Miller ready to roll the dice again on a Jump Street adventure, the only element that's going to have problems outdoing the previous film's is setting up just where to go from the last bust the two buddy cops were out on. By completely owning the franchise's "proposed" sequels, rather than pretending that it was all just a really funny gag, the team behind 23 Jump Street has given themselves a great storytelling gift – while at the same time making things harder for their eventual follow up.
No production schedule has been set for 23 Jump Street just yet, though you can just tell Richard Grieco is ready to answer the phone and sign on for as many Jump Street movies as possible.
