Matthew McConaughey will not be returning for 'Magic Mike' sequel

Magic Mike XXL director Gregory Jacobs has confirmed the sad, sad news that Matthew McConaughey will be not be returning for the much-awaited sequel to Magic Mike. Jacobs has taken the reins from Magic Mike director Steven Soderbergh

Filming for the sequel began at the beginning of September, and it’s been set for a July 1, 2015, release.

The absence of McConaughey’s strip club entrepreneur won’t be the only difference between XXL and the 2012 original. Sure, Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer and Joe Manganiello are all back on board, but Jacobs says the followup will be “very different.”

“It’s a 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,” he said. “No one will be accusing us of making the same movie twice.”

And despite the fact that Soderbergh is not at the helm, he said earlier this summer that “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.”

Jacobs, too, said they are working closely together. “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.”