[Warning: Contains spoilers for 22 Jump Street.]
2012's 21 Jump Street met with a lot of enthusiasm from audiences for its unexpectedly high level of quality, but some of its most delightful surprises came in the form of continuity nods; the film contained a trio of cast member cameos from the TV series that provided its basis, namely Holly Robinson, Johnny Depp, and Peter DeLuise. The third-act appearance of the latter two in particular turned into one of 21 Jump Street's most memorable moments, reuniting officers Doug Penhall and Tom Hanson for one last bust before going out in a blaze of glory.
Obviously, 21 Jump Street proved enough of a hit that MGM saw fit to green light a follow-up movie, and so we have 22 Jump Street coming down the pipeline for a June release this year. As with any franchise picture or sequel, the objective is to up the ante from the original and play off of what worked; that means even wackier shenanigans from everyone's favorite power couple, Jenko (Channing Tatum) and Schmidt (Jonah Hill), as they head off to go undercover in college, and another slate of cameos from the television show's acting troupe to boot.
Of course, none of this may come as much of a surprise; new cameos for 22 Jump Street have been a possibility for a while, and besides that, there's no good reason for Phil Lord and Chris Miller not to bring Jump Street alums on-board for brief but terrific supporting performances. But now we know which veterans of the original series will be showing up in the next film: according to Film Drunk, Richard Greico and Brad Pitt will both make appearances throughout the narrative, though in what capacity remains a mystery.
Greico will reprise his role as Detective Dennis Booker, as anyone might expect, while Pitt will most likely play Peter, his guest character from season two episode "Best Years of Your Life". There's zero information available as to how they'll fit into the greater plot here, but if we look at the first movie for ideas, then it's possible that Greico might either be working for Captain Dickson (Ice Cube) at the new Jump Street precinct, or operating undercover in the field. Pitt, on the other hand, is a bit harder to peg, but he was involved in a storyline devoted to discussing teen suicide, so maybe that could be a factor for his character.
Or maybe Pitt will portray a different person entirely in 22 Jump Street. For the moment, we only know that he and Greico will be in the movie, so again, we can only guess as to the nature of their cameos, but it's good to know that Lord and Miller are dedicated to drawing from canon for their Jump Street movies. It's a small gesture, perhaps, since nobody's watching the reboots for strict cohesion between them and the television show, but it shows that they care about the material beyond its potential as fertile comedic ground.
So far, 22 Jump Street is shaping up well; between little updates like this and the recently released red band trailer, it's easy to see why this film is on Screen Rant's list of most anticipated 2014 movies. We'll see come summertime if it lives up to expectations - and if any other cameos make their way into the final cut.
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22 Jump Street hits US theaters on June 13th, 2014.
Source: Film Drunk