Channing Tatum says the hunky dancers of “Magic Mike” are likely to look a bit more hirsute when they return for a third movie.
In a Wednesday appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” the actor said he plans to forgo body waxing for his forthcoming role in “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” in an effort to reflect current tastes in male grooming.
“We are going to change with the times, and I am not gonna do the whole waxing thing,” Tatum told Kimmel. “I think I’m just gonna go natural.”
Though Tatum didn’t specify just how hairy of a situation fans can expect, he told Kimmel: “It’s a new day. A little bit of hair is fine!”
Watch Channing Tatum’s chat with Jimmy Kimmel below.
While no dancer-specific statistics appear to be available, a Los Angeles Times article published in December hinted at an overall resurgence in the popularity of chest hair among men.
“Of course, the clean chest is still a prized commodity in Southern California,” journalist Dave Schilling wrote. “But the scales are tipping back toward the hirsute ... Chest hair is something we equate with the past, with bygone days of what it meant to be a sexual, stylish being in the 20th century.”
2012’s “Magic Mike,” which also starred Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello and Matthew McConaughey, was loosely based on Tatum’s real-life experiences as a stripper. A sequel, “Magic Mike XXL,” arrived three years later. The two films reportedly raked in a combined $300 million at the box office worldwide.
Though Tatum didn’t divulge many plot points in his chat with Kimmel, he said he hoped the new film would be “the Super Bowl of stripper movies” and would feature “the best dancers in the world” as well as a “really strong female central character.”
Tatum, who returns to the big screen next week in the comedy “Dog,” confirmed in November that a third installment of the “Magic Mike” franchise was on the way. The new film will be directed by Steven Soderbergh from a screenplay by Reid Carolin, who also wrote the first two films in the series. It premieres exclusively on HBO Max.