“Magic Mike’s Last Dance”
Salma Hayek is replacing Thandiwe Newton
Salma Hayek (left) will stand in for Thandiwe Newton.
© Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock.com / DFree/Shutterstock.com
Thandiwe Newton will not be in front of the camera for “Magic Mike’s Last Dance”. She is replaced by Salma Hayek.
Thandiwe Newton (49) will not be seen alongside main actor Channing Tatum (41) in the third “Magic Mike” film. The actress is stepping down from her role in ‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ due to personal reasons. This was confirmed by Warner Bros. Pictures in a statement quoted by several US media. Newton “made the difficult decision” to retire from production “to attend to family matters,” it said. Further details on the reasons are not known.
However, who will replace her is already certain: Salma Hayek (55) will take on Newton’s role. Director Steven Soderbergh (59) will direct the third “Magic Mike” film after the first. Little is known about the plot of the film.
Strong female character in “Magic Mike’s Last Dance”
Channing Tatum told the industry magazine “Variety” in February only that there will be a “really strong” female character who is “almost stronger” than himself as Mike. “No traditional love story” is told. He also gushed that “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” was the “Super Bowl of stripper movies.” The film offers “the most blatant dances that we can create”.
The Magic Mike films are loosely based on the life of Channing Tatum, who was a 20-year-old stripper in Florida.