While this past Labor Day weekend was very much considered a holiday in the US, the production team behind Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike XXL abstained from the annual celebrations and quietly began filming on the raunchy stripper-centric sequel.
News comes by way of Soderbergh’s Twitter account, where he posted a view of the film’s official clapperboard from the set, which also confirms that Magic Mike XXL will be situated at least in parts within Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
It’s ON! pic.twitter.com/zczZdpqzdt
— Bitchuation (@Bitchuation) August 31, 2014
And though Soderbergh is still very much involved in the follow-up after overseeing the first film, the renowned filmmaker has passed on directing duties to long-time collaborator, Gregory Jacobs, who worked alongside Soderbergh for a number of productions including Side Effects and last year’s rather excellent Behind the Candelabra.
Co-written by Reid Carolin and lead star Channing Tatum, Magic Mike XXL will center around Xquisite’s ragtag group of male dancers as the head up one of the country’s most prestigious stripper conventions. Currently, Joe Manganiello is the only star to openly confirm his role in the sequel, with Matt Bomer, Alex Pettyfer and, crucially, Matthew McConaughey — who played the sleazy and ambiguous Dallas — all yet to put pen to paper.
It remains to be seen whether a three year gap is too long an interlude for a sequel of this stature to truly make an impact. Either way, Magic Mike XXL is set to open in North America on August 1st, 2015 and August 7th for those in the UK.