Salma Hayek is replacing Thandiwe Newton in Magic Mike's Last Dance

Salma Hayek is set to replace Thandiwe Newton in Magic Mike’s Last Dance, now filming in London.

As reported by Deadline, Warner Bros. issued a statement reading, “Thandiwe Newton has made the difficult decision to step away from the production of Warner Bros. Pictures’ Magic Mike’s Last Dance to deal with family matters.”

Last year, Hayek appeared in House Of Gucci and Eternals. Prime Video recently premiered Newton’s latest project All The Old Knives.

Unlike Channing Tatum’s abs, plot details for Magic Mike’s Last Dance have been kept under wraps so far. However, he told Variety earlier this year that “It’s going to have a really strong, almost stronger than Mike, character that’s female…We’ve never done a traditional love story, and this isn’t a traditional love story.”

It is also unknown if previous co-stars such as Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer, and Donald Glover will be reprising their roles. Director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Reid Carolin are confirmed to be returning, continuing their long-running collaboration with Tatum.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance is the third and final installment in the series, following 2012's Magic Mike and Magic Mike XXL in 2015. The dance drama and life-affirming road trip comedy inspired the stage show Magic Mike Live, which is on tour now. There was also the reality series Finding Magic Mike on HBO Max, in which aspiring dancers competed for an opportunity to perform in the live show.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance is set to be an HBO Max original, which seems like a weird choice after Magic Mike XXL immediately became known as a delightful theatergoing experience, but hey, whatever gets this movie into the people’s eyeballs! Soderbergh began a three-year overall deal with HBO Max and HBO in 2020, which has already yielded the films Let Them All Talk, No Sudden Move, and Kimi.