The Final Dance Sequence in “Magic Mike” Will Last 30 Minutes
Better make the most of your final voyage if you must return. In his return to directing, Steven Soderbergh has hinted that the final dance scene of “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” will last longer than half an hour.
In a recent interview with Empire magazine published on Wednesday, Soderbergh remarked, “We wanted to blow the dancing up in a big way.” Right in the beginning, we get a dance number with Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek. The final half hour and a half of the film is devoted entirely to a long dance number.
It’s possible that Soderbergh’s willingness to return for “Last Dance” after stepping aside for “Magic Mike XXL” was due in part to the fact that this particular sequence was shot in an ancient theatre in South London called the Chapman Grand, where he had more creative freedom. Soderbergh makes it sound like he’s remaking “An American in Paris,” which is convenient given that the film stars Channing Tatum, a modern-day Gene Kelly who can do anything with his legs, and the original film was released in 1989.
“My job is, how do I make each one of these distinct? I can’t shoot them all the same way, I have to come up with a different approach for each dance. And that was really the challenge,” Soderbergh said. “That was fun, there’s not a bad angle to be had in that place.”
Soderbergh has given a few hints about the plot of the third instalment of the “Magic Mike” series, claiming that not only does Mike put on a huge show in a famed London theatre, but this is also the first time Mike is seen in a serious relationship.
“The first film was a fairly straightforward rendering of a set of characters who exist in a certain milieu that hasn’t changed since its inception. And the second film was pushing out a little bit to talk about what women are looking for on a night out in which fantasies and sexuality are explored — and how do you retain a sense of mystery, while still existing in an environment in which things like permission and consent are front and centre?” Soderbergh said. “The third film just really dives into this in a much bigger way, partially because for the first time we see Mike in a relationship. So that just allows for a dynamic and a set of discussions that we haven’t had access to, prior to ‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance.’”
The release date for “Magic Mike: The Last Dance” is set for February 10, 2023.