Why Channing Tatum Doesn’t Dance To “Pony” In Magic Mike 3

Despite being his signature dance in the first two films, Channing Tatum doesn’t dance to Ginuwine’s “Pony” in Magic Mike’s Last Dance. Here’s why.

Channing Tatum dancing to Ginuwine’s “Pony” became a staple of the Magic Mike franchise, which is why it’s so shocking that he wasn’t included in the routine in Magic Mike’s Last Dance. R&B singer Ginuwine released the hit song in 1996, but 16 years later, it was resurrected when Tatum, as Mike Lane, performed a strip routine to it in the first Magic Mike film. The scene became so iconic that Tatum’s then-wife Jenna Dewan recreated it on an episode of Lip Sync Battle. Tatum revived the dance for Magic Mike XXL when he was working on his furniture business, and “Pony” came on the radio.

The song reignites Mike’s love for dance and pushes him to join The Kings of Tampa at the Myrtle Beach male stripping convention. Unfortunately, this was the last time Magic Mike fans would ever see the character dancing to the iconic song. For Magic Mike’s Last Dance, Mike was left out of the “Pony” routine, despite how popular the scenes were in the first two films. While Mike’s “Pony” routine is beloved within the franchise, there’s a good reason the former stripper sat this one out.

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Mike Makes His New Stripping Team Dance To “Pony”

Luckily, Magic Mike’s Last Dance still includes the 1996 hit. However, this time, a group of new dancers perform the song without Mike. The scene is not the focus of Magic Mike’s Last Dance, and “Pony” is not as substantial to the third installment as it was to the first two movies. Given its status on the periphery, rather than a central set piece, it perhaps makes sense that Mike himself doesn’t perform the routine.

However, aside from avoiding a potential repeat of previous Magic Mike scenes, there are narrative reasons why Channing Tatum doesn’t dance to “Pony” in Magic Mike 3. For the third and final film, Mike has moved on from his past dance career and has only reentered the world to earn $60,000 to make up for the money he lost when the Covid-19 pandemic took out his furniture business. He’s not interested in becoming a male stripper again but in training a new generation of men to take his place. This makes the song’s presence emblematic of Mike moving on with his life and career.

Magic Mike 3’s “Pony” Dance Proves Mike’s Stripping Career Is Over

Having the new group dance to “Pony” without Mike is a passing-of-the-torch moment, making it evident Mike doesn’t have plans to return to the industry anymore. In the previous sequel Magic Mike XXL, “Pony” was what helped Mike get back into dancing, and having him unphased by the song in the third film demonstrates how he really is over stripping. It’s disappointing not to see Mike in the routine since it was so iconic and so loved by audiences, but the message it sends is powerful. However, it still would have been nice to see Tatum do the dance one last time since it is the final film, after all.

No one could have predicted that a song from 1996 that never made it into the top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts would be so crucial to the Magic Mike franchise. However, the song broke all expectations, and it’s hard to imagine any of the three films without the R&B hit. The “Pony” scene was not what it was in the first two films, and there’s a part of that that feels dissatisfying. However, it closes the curtain on Mike’s time as a stripper for good, and for that, not having Mike in the routine is the perfect conclusion to the franchise.

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