Though it's holding just a 6.1 on IMDB, "Magic Mike" received decent reviews elsewhere, significantly exceeded earnings expectations, and has been credited by many as the one of the beginnings of Matthew McConaugey's suddenly critically acclaimed acting career.
McConaughey's multi-layered "Dallas" character will be back for the sequel, which will be called "Magic Mike: XXL" and begin shooting this fall, according to Rolling Stone.
Co-star Channing Tatum will also return. Director Steven Soderberg ("Traffic," "Erin Brokovich," "Ocean's 11," "Behind the Candlebra"), however, won't direct the second film. Instead, he'll stay on as executive producer while his protégé, Gregory Jacob, assumes directing responsibilities.
The first "Magic Mike" was based loosely on Tatum's own rise to stardom. Now 35, he went to West Virginia University on a football scholarship, dropped out, and worked a variety of jobs. One of them was male stripping. Around the same time, he also started modeling and became interesting in acting. At first, he was just on commercials. Tatum's first feature film was "Coach Carter." His breakthrough role was 2006's "Step Up," in which he flashed - in a less provocative way - some of the same moves he'd brandish in "Magic Mike."
Upcoming for Tatum is "Foxcatcher" about an Olympic wrestling champion (Tatum) killed by his paranoid schizophrenic brother. He'll also star in two other sequels, "22 Jump Street" and "Jupiter Ascending."
The only other project on the radar for McConaughey (who very likely will become the first actor ever to win an Oscar and an Emmy for best actor in the same year) is "Interstellar," a sci-fi thriller about a wormhole. If that sounds like it might be a step backwards for him, it almost certainly isn't, considering its director, Chris Nolan ("Memento," "The Prestige," "The Dark Knight," "Inception").
