Why ’24 Jump Street’ Skipped A Number, According To Phil Lord

The ‘Jump Street’ franchise has always thrived on poking fun at itself, and its long road back to the big screen has been no exception. Since ‘Ice Cube’, Channing Tatum, and Jonah Hill first went undercover as teenagers in 2012’s ’21 Jump Street’, the comedy series has built a reputation for turning its own sequel logic into the joke. That self awareness is now defining its next chapter before a single scene has even been shot.

For over a decade, fans wondered whether a third film would ever materialize. A follow up called ’23 Jump Street’ was announced as being in development back in September 2013, and the idea was later folded into a proposed crossover with the ‘Men in Black’ franchise before that plan ultimately fell apart. The crossover, known as ‘MIB 23’, was confirmed as canceled in January 2019, leaving the franchise’s numbering in limbo for years.

That messy history is exactly what filmmaker Phil Lord addressed when explaining the title of the upcoming threequel, ’24 Jump Street’. Speaking about the decision, Lord said, “We developed a ’23 Jump Street’, and I think this is just out of respect for that. We’re calling this 24, out of respect for the dead.” The line doubles as a wink to longtime fans who remember the franchise mocking its own sequel bait years before this project ever got off the ground.

That self referential streak has been part of the ‘Jump Street’ formula from the start. The original ’21 Jump Street’ followed Schmidt and Jenko, former high school classmates who reunite as adult police officers and get reassigned to a revived undercover program after botching an arrest. ’22 Jump Street’ then sent the pair from a high school bust to a college campus, and its ending famously teased a string of increasingly absurd future installments, including a joke version titled ’23 Jump Street’ set in medical school.

The films have also been box office giants for Sony. ’21 Jump Street’ pulled in more than 200 million dollars worldwide as Lord and Miller’s live action directorial debut, while ’22 Jump Street’ climbed even higher, raking in over 331 million dollars globally.

This time around, Lord and Miller are stepping back from the director’s chair to produce, handing the reins to a familiar collaborator. Rodney Rothman, who previously co wrote ’22 Jump Street’ and co directed ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’, is directing ’24 Jump Street’, and he is also co writing the script alongside Jonah Hill and Meghan Malloy. Producer Neal H. Moritz is returning as well, continuing his long association with the franchise, and Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, and Ice Cube are all in talks to reprise their roles.

No plot details have been revealed yet, and ’24 Jump Street’ currently does not have a release date. What is clear is that the franchise is once again leaning into the meta humor that made it a cult favorite in the first place, turning a title change into its own punchline before production has even properly begun.

With Schmidt and Jenko’s next case still shrouded in mystery, does skipping straight to ’24’ feel like the right kind of tribute to the ’23 Jump Street’ that never was?