Magic Mike's Last Dance: Mike will finally be able to have an intimate relationship with his partner in the HBO Max sequel

In a roundtable conversation featuring Steven Soderbergh and Zoe Kravitz regarding their forthcoming film KIMI, the director briefly talked about the highly anticipated third installment in the Magic Mike story, titled Magic Mike's Last Dance. Soderbergh also spoke about the need to encourage Channing Tatum to keep telling the story, which is, in part, inspired by Tatum's past as a stripper from Tampa, Florida.

Soderbergh produced Magic Mike, which was released in 2012. Magic Mike was a massive hit with audiences and critics who not just praised the sex appeal and dance sequences, but also the direction, script, and the performances. Tatum starred alongside Alex Pettyfer, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, and Matthew McConaughey. Bomer and Manganiello would also return alongside Tatum for the 2015 sequel Magic Mike XXL, this time directed by Gregory Jacobs, who was the first assistant director for the first film. The sequel was also a success both critically and financially.

In the days when Magic Mike was still just one idea in a sea of ideas, Soderbergh remembers pointing to it as the film Tatum should be focusing on. He said that when Tatum presented the concept in the setting of Haywire, it immediately attracted his attention. Later, when the story was finished, Soderbergh was eager to get on board to make the idea a possibility.

With a third film on the way, which was announced in November and named  Magic Mike's Last Dance  , Soderbergh gave us a little preview of what we can expect in the finale. He explained that while he was sure that his Magic Mike concept would be a success, he didn't realize that Tatum was looking to expand the universe of the film into a broader area, one that dealt with the subject of relationships, masculinity and respect. This was expanded in the sequel.

"The third film is sort of the apex of everything we've been discussing in this subject. Not just taking the dance to a new stage, but also getting into the relationship aspect that's been an undercurrent in all of the films. Mike has a relationship that's in the middle of the movie, while the rest is happening. This isn't the first time that we've done this."

While Last Dance could very well be Mike Lane's last dance, Soderbergh's return to the series is a thrilling development. After the XXL sequel We've made it to the top of the mountain, but there's more to reveal about Mike's journey.