Matthew McConaughey won't be in Magic Mike XXL

We had high hopes that McConaughey would be back as flamboyant club owner Dallas after Channing Tatum, who plays the film's namesake, said in an April interview that the whole cast would be reunited for Magic Mike XXL. But now director Gregory Jacobs has revealed that the film will be Dallas-free. No reason has been given but it could be that McConaughey is too busy with other projects after his recent awards glory, or that his character doesn't fit into the new story.

Speaking to The Playlist, Jacobs said the sequel, which will be out here in August 2015, would be “very different.”

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

Co-writer, producer and Magic Mike himself, Channing Tatum, will be back along with Matt Bomer and Joe Manganiello. Jacobs also said there would be new cast members but wouldn't say who. We're hoping there'll be someone good enough to ease the pain of McConaughey's absence.