Yesterday the web was struck with a blow: Matthew McConaughey would not be back for Magic Mike XXL. His Southern drawl. The baby-oil pecs. Gone. Does this mean the role of Dallas, the entrepreneur-mentor for the crew of money-hungry male strippers is gone? Possibly. Or could it mean the part will simply be rewritten. We’re opting for the latter. We’re also hinting at a gender change, as Variety reports that Andie MacDowell has signed onto the film.
The report isn’t exactly bursting with details of her involvement. In fact, the title of the article “Andie MacDowell Joins Magic Mike Sequel” is the extent of the information. The actress made a name for herself during the nineties in a stint of romantic comedies, from Four Weddings And A Funeral to Groundhog Day. Will MacDowell be taking over the mentor role? It’s possible, but then again, there’s still plenty of time for further casting announcements.
She’ll be joining returning cast members Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matt Bomer and Joe Maganiello for the sequel, which began shooting last week. So far there’s been little of the plot announced – except there’ll be a road trip element.
What we do know according to director Gregory Jacobs is that it will be “very different” to the first movie. Jacobs, who took over helming duties from original director Steven Soderbergh revealed yesterday a few glimpses into what we can expect:
“What am I allowed to say?…It’s road trip movie and put it this way, it’s different enough that once you see it you’ll understand why we made a sequel. No one will be accusing us of making the same movie twice.”
Magic Mike XXL is set for release on July 3rd, 2015.