Steven Soderbergh Will Be The DP, Editor & Camera Operator On 'Magic Mike XXL'

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Steven Soderbergh‘s retirement is quite specific—he’s no longer directing feature films. And so, he’s free to direct television, as he’s done with Cinemax‘s forthcoming “The Knick,” or take any other film-related jobs as long as they don’t involve actually helming the project. And so, with that in mind, Soderbergh has decided to wear a few hats on the upcoming “Magic Mike XXL.”

As we know, the “Magic Mike” sequel will have Greg Jacobs, Soderbergh’s longtime collaborator, behind the camera. But Soderbergh won’t be too far away. GQ (via Vulture) reveals he’ll be the film’s editor, camera operator and director of photography. “I want to be there, but I don’t want to be the director,” Soderbergh told the magazine. “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.”

But it wasn’t that easy to move away from the gig. Channing Tatum reveals he pressed hard for the filmmaker to return and make the sequel to the smash hit first film. “It’s super complicated, in my opinion, why he wanted to stop doing film. I lobbied probably harder than anybody else—we had many, many nights of heated debate. I was, ‘I don’t fucking get it! Why?’ And he’s like, ‘I don’t need it,’ ” the actor said.

The gigs on the movie Soderbergh has done on his own projects to varying degrees, and we’d wager it’s probably akin to working a well-oiled muscle for him. Though we have to wonder how difficult it’ll be on set again, with all those people he worked with on the last film, and have someone else making all the major decisions.