Channing Tatum Promises an Even More Ripped Physique in the New Magic Mike Movie

Dancer and actor Channing Tatum is reprising one of his most famous roles this year in Magic Mike's Last Dance, the third and final installment of the stripper saga based loosely on his own life. And in a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Tatum revealed that he will be showing off an even more impressive physique than ever before, noting that he got into "the best shape of my entire life" for the movie.

While this will be music to the ears of thirsty fans of the crowd-pleasing stripper franchise, there's a function to Tatum's fitness. His co-star in Magic Mike's Last Dance, Salma Hayek Pinault, recently described one of their early scenes together—the moment where he gives her a lap dance, as hinted at in the trailer—as "very physically challenging."

The dance sequences in this movie also promise to be bigger and more elaborate than in Magic Mike or Magic Mike XXL, with Tatum claiming that he wants this closing chapter to be the "Super Bowl of stripper movies" with "some of the most premiere, sickest dancers you could possibly find in the world performing," inspired by the bombast and athleticism of the smash hit Magic Mike live show.

However, these films don't come without their own physical toll. In a conversation with Kelly Clarkson in 2022, Tatum got real about just how much work goes into sculpting the Magic Mike physique, which is actually one of the reasons he was initially reluctant to make a third movie.

"It's hard to look like that," he said. "Even if you do work out, to be that kind of in shape is not natural. That's not even healthy. You have to starve yourself. I don't think when you're that lean, it's actually healthy... I don't know how people who work a 9 to 5 actually stay in shape because it's my full-time job, and I can barely do it."