De website Deadline meldt dat Channing Tatum (The Dilemma, 2011) een hoofdrol heeft weten te bemachtigen in de film 21 Jump Street (2012). Tatum zal naast Jonah Hill (Superbad, 2007) te zien zijn in deze soort van remake van de bekende politie(tiener)serie 21 Jump Street, de serie die de doorbraak betekende van met name Johnny Depp.

De actiekomedie is in handen van regisseursduo Phil Lord en Chris Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs). Jonah Hill zei al eerder dat de film een soort John Hughes film moet worden in Bad Boys stijl: "[Audiences are] not expecting what it's going to be. It's not a parody of the show. I'm not playing Johnny Depp's character... I'm not saying I'm Johnny Depp. I'm not playing his character. It's a group of people that go back to high school to deal with a drug problem. To deal with crime in high school. I really love the "Back to the Future" moment of that where it's getting to relive a certain period of your life... It's a comedy with really cool action. We're not doing something serious like 'Miami Vice.' But it's not a parody. It's a funny movie with a lot of great action and a real story. I've been saying that it's like a John Hughes movie with 'Bad Boys' style action."