Matthew McConaughey will not be part of the "Magic Mike XXL."
Talking about his new Amazon pilot "Red Oaks" in an interview with Indie Wire, director Gregory Jacobs confirmed that McConaughey will not reprise his role as Dallas in the sequel to the hit 2012 film "Magic Mike."
The filmmaker also said that "Magic Mike XXL" will be "very different" from the first film.
"What am I allowed to say?" he said with a pause. "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."
Jacobs, who served as first assistant director in the original film, is directing from a script written by Reid Carolin and Channing Tatum, who also plays the titular role.
Though "Magic Mike" director Steven Soderbergh had given up his director's chair, he is still heavily involved with the project.
"I want to be there, but I don't want to be the director," Soderbergh said in an interview for GQ's June cover story. "I want to be a part of it. I want to be in the band, but I just don't want to be the frontman this time."
Soderbergh has signed on as the sequel's director of photography, camera operator and film editor, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Jacobs also addressed allegations that since Soderbergh is shooting the film and editing it, "Magic Mike XXL" will be nothing but purely a Peter Andrews/Mary Ann Bernard project (Sodbergh's sobriquets when acting as DP or editor). Jacobs told Indie Wire that he does not see it that way, saying he and Soderbergh have worked together for over a decade and as a result, they have created a brother-like creative shorthand.
Jacobs revealed that Soderbergh was, in fact, the one who pushed him to direct the sequel and to turn "Red Oaks" from an indie comedy into a TV series.
Jacobs is hoping that Soderbergh will be working with him for more years. "I wish I could get a good DP," he joked. "I think it's going to be really fun. I mean, I'm on set every day when we're shooting [Soderbergh's projects] as it is. We're constantly suggesting stuff to each other. It's really intimate and collaborative and it always has been. So I think it'll be a lot of fun. We already shot some second unit stuff which was a total blast. I think it's going to be a good time."
Second unit footage kicked off in August, but the real shoot will commence at the end of this month, Jacobs told Indie Wire.
Aside from Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matt Bomer and Joe Manganiello are confirmed to return.
"Magic Mike XXL" is slated for July 1. 2015 release date.