21 Jump Street Movie – Written By Jonah Hill : Movie News

We all know and love Superbad’s Jonah Hill. He is fat, he is funny and the guy knows when something sucks and when it works – which is why it’s so cool to see that a guy (who could seemingly have his pick of the litter when it comes to acting roles) has decided to take on the role of scriptwriter… of the 21 JUMP STREET movie.

Yeah, you heard me!

It was reported a while back on The Hollywood Insider that Jonah Hill and Mike Bacall had inked a deal with Sony that would see them write the screenplay, star and serve as executive producers on the 1980s throwback piece. The TV series (the launchpad for Johnny Depp’s career), ran from 1987-1990, and still stands as one of the most iconic TV shows of the era.

21 Jump Street : The Movie

“We’re going to shoot it this year I think.” Hill told ComingSoon.net, “We hired directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller who directed Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs [who jumped ship from The Muppets movie to this]… Their take on the movie is incredible… It’s about cops who go back to high school. Young rookie cops who go back to high school. I think that’s a real interesting idea as opposed to saying, that’s not what happened in the show so it can’t happen in the movie’.

While Hill revealed that while the 21 Jump Street movie will keep the same basic premise as the series, it won’t go all Stiller / Wilson Starky & Hutch on us, and is expected to have a tone that will surprise fans.

“[Audiences are] not expecting what it’s going to be. It’s not a parody of the show. I’m not playing Johnny Depp’s character… I’m not saying I’m Johnny Depp. I’m not playing his character. It’s a group of people that go back to high school to deal with a drug problem. To deal with crime in high school. I really love the Back to the Future moment of that where it’s getting to relive a certain period of your life” Hill said.

“It’s a comedy with really cool action. We’re not doing something serious like Miami Vice. But it’s not a parody. It’s a funny movie with a lot of great action and a real story. I’ve been saying that it’s like a John Hughes movie with Bad Boys style action”.

The big question will be whether or not Depp makes a cameo in the movie, which isn’t out of the question, with Hill playing rather coy when discussing casting, “There might be a couple of surprises in there… [T]he Chapel’s there. There will be stuff from the show”.

Call me crazy, but I think this just might work. I’ve always enjoyed Jonah Hill’s comedic direction – and with Phil Lord and Chris Miller (who have worked together as co-exec producers on the excellent How I Met Your Mother) 21 Jump Street could turn out to be the surprise packet of the year.

And as Hill explains “I wouldn’t make it if it wouldn’t be awesome”. Well said.

For those unfamiliar with the show – check out the clip below…