Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum to be ‘Dance Parents’

The pair aim to team up for the family comedy, which has Jonathan Levine aboard to direct, Meghan Malloy writing the script and Universal backing it.

(L to R) Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum perform during The Oscars® from the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood, CA, Sunday, February 24, 2013 live on the ABC Television Network. Credit/Provider: Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.

Preview:

Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum are starring in ‘Dance Parents’.
Jonathan Levine will direct the movie.
Universal won a bidding war for the rights.

Is comedy ready to make a big comeback to theaters? With ‘The Naked Gun’ doing decent business and Disney bringing legacy sequel ‘Freakier Friday’ this weekend, it would seem other studios are dipping their toes in too.

Deadline brings word that Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum are attached to star in ‘Dance Parents’, which they would both produce, and Jonathan Levine –– who last worked with Theron on ‘Long Shot’ is aboard to direct.

Universal, which has seen success with comedies in the past, nabbed the project after winning a bidding battle with several other companies for the rights.

What’s the story of ‘Dance Parents’?

Charlize Theron arrives on the red carpet of the 96th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 10, 2024. Credit/Provider: Nick Agro ©A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.

With the project still in early development –– besides Levine and the stars, the only other person attached right now is writer Meghan Malloy (‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’) –– the exact plot details are being kept quiet for now.

But we can at least speculate from that title the idea that it’ll be set in the heady world of competitive kids dancing, and the obsessive parents who manage their every step.

Tatum, of course, has extensive dance experience, not least in the ‘Step Up’ franchise. And he and Theron shared a number on stage at the 2013 Oscars.

What else are Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum working on?

Channing Tatum as Gambit in 'Deadpool & Wolverine'. Photo: Marvel Studios.

Theron will next be seen amongst the packed cast of Christopher Nolan’s latest, ‘The Odyssey’, which will be in theaters on July 17th next year. She’s also the lead in new wilderness thriller ‘Apex’.

On top of those, she has a raft of other projects on her list, much of which she is producing, including a limited series adaptation of horror novel ‘The Quiet Tenant’ with Blumhouse, ‘Jane’, a psychological thriller feature loosely based on the life of prolific science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, and ‘Two for the Money’, a love letter to the heist genre directed by Justin Lin.

Tatum’s next movie to see theaters will be true crime comedy drama ‘Roofman’, due on October 10th.

He’s recently worked on a new thriller called ‘Josephine’ and is filming ‘Alpha Gang’, a sci-fi comedy about aliens who arrive on Earth plotting invasion but succumb to human emotions when they disguise themselves as a biker gang.

Oh, and there is also the small matter of his reprising the role of Gambit for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, which is also in production now for a December 18th, 2026 release.