FILM · 2012 · USA
21 Jump Street
- Directed by
- Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
- Runtime
- 109 min
- Studio
- Columbia Pictures, Relativity Media, Original Film
42 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
When cops Schmidt and Jenko join the secret Jump Street unit, they use their youthful appearances to go undercover as high school students. They trade in their guns and badges for backpacks, and set out to shut down a dangerous drug ring. But, as time goes on, Schmidt and Jenko discover that high school is nothing like it was just a few years earlier -- and, what's more, they must again confront the teenage terror…
Summary: TMDB
32 Interesting Facts About 21 Jump Street
- #002
Jonah Hill wrote the role of Captain Dickson with Ice Cube in mind.
- #004
Originally, the drama teacher talks about doing cocaine with Whitney Houston's nephew. After Houston died, the line was changed to "Doing cocaine with Willie Nelson's horse."
- #005
When Schmidt and Jenko go undercover as brothers, their surname becomes McQuaid. In the original 21 Jump Street (1987), Hanson and Penhall often went undercover as the McQuaid brothers.
- #006
When Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill get out of the limousine and enter the prom, two men dressed as ushers on either side are their stand-ins.
- #007
Ice Cube mostly improvised his lines.
- #008
Except for Richard Grieco and Dustin Nguyen, the entire original cast of the 21 Jump Street (1987) television series has small roles in the film. In one scene, the villains watch the original television series on TV, and Nguyen's character is shown in almost every shot. Grieco and Nguyen later appeared as guest stars in 22 Jump Street (2014).
- #009
Contains a major spoiler — show
Johnny Depp's character, Tom Hanson, is eating in every scene he appears in. Hanson frequently ate in the original 21 Jump Street (1987) television series, sometimes several times per episode, and often did so in scenes vital to the plot.
- #012
Throughout the film, while the two main characters report back to "Chapel," they encounter two female police officers recounting their own adventures, including taking down a prostitution ring and raiding a chop shop that operated out of a high school's auto shop. Both of these cases were events from the first season of 21 Jump Street (1987).
- #013
Contains a major spoiler — show
Johnny Depp insisted on a joke being made about his character during the "21 Jump Street" TV series. He wanted to be shown eating peanut butter throughout the series, but the idea was rejected. So in this film his character is seen eating peanut butter in every shot, has a peanut butter tattoo and is referred to as PB.
- #014
Contains a major spoiler — show
When Schmidt and Jenko take H. F. S., Jenko says it tastes like Cool Ranch. Shortly afterward, they run into Coach Walters carrying a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos. Coach Walters is later revealed to be the brain behind H. F. S.
- #016
Contains a major spoiler — show
While undercover, Schmidt's identity is nearly blown by someone who knows him personally, and Schmidt avoids it by saying the man was trying to pull him away and grab his private parts. The same thing happened to Johnny Depp's undercover character in Donnie Brasco (1997). Depp plays DEA agent Tom Hanson in this film.
- #017
When the boys pick the car from the motor pool, an older Judy Hoffs appears.
- #018
While appearing on the Howard Stern Show, J. K. Simmons explained that he was considered for Deputy Chief Hardy but scheduling conflicts prevented him from being cast. After watching the film, Simmons said this was one of the few roles in comedy he would have wanted to play.
- #019
At one point, Dave Franco's character says he doesn't trust Channing Tatum's character because he looks like he's forty. In reality, Tatum is only five years older than Franco.
- #020
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg did uncredited rewrites of the script.
- #022
Channing Tatum's character is named Jenko, taken from Captain Richard Jenco, played by Frederic Forrest in the original 21 Jump Street (1987) television series.
- #025
Contains a major spoiler — show
The hotel room scenes were shot in the first week of filming because that was the only time Johnny Depp was available. Dave Franco noted that it was difficult to gauge how big a performance they needed to give, since the actors had no prior energy or scenes to build on and would not be able to reshoot anything after Depp left.
- #028
One scene features NWA's song "Straight Outta Compton." Ice Cube, who plays Captain Dickson, was a member of N.W.A. Also, at the beginning of the film, Jonah Hill is dressed like Slim Shady, with whom Ice Cube rapped.
- #029
Jonah Hill and Dave Franco also played high school classmates in Superbad (2007).
- #030
Contains a major spoiler — show
When Schmidt mocks Jenko for not knowing his Miranda rights, Jenko replies: "Come on, man. They always cut away on TV before they finish them." At the end of the film, when they arrest Mr. Walters, the scene does not cut away until he has finished reading the full rights.
- #031
Jonah Hill's character uses a SonyEricsson Xperia Play. This was Sony's abandoned attempt to release a PlayStation phone. Since Columbia Pictures is owned by Sony Pictures, Sony Ericsson cell phones were expected to appear in the film.
- #032
Contains a major spoiler — show
When the two undercover DEA agents are shot, this actually contradicts the original series' Back to the Future (1990) episode, in which they appeared as two older, retired officers recalling past cases.
- #033
Wilhelm scream: during the credits, when a character dives in through a window.
- #034
Brie Larson and Johnny Simmons had previously appeared together in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010), which Michael Bacall co-wrote.
- #035
Schmidt's Peter Pan costume is displayed at Planet Hollywood at Disney Springs in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
- #036
Jonah Hill wanted Rob Zombie to direct.
- #037
Contains a major spoiler — show
Near the end of the film, one of the students wears a bow tie made of Lego. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller would go on to direct "The Lego Movie."
- #038
Contains a major spoiler — show
At the end, just as Schmidt warned he might do to Molly, Jenko throws up on Schmidt.
- #039
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the scene where Jenko and Schmidt cannot throw up the drugs, the gym teacher, Mr. Walters (Rob Riggle), is holding a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos. While describing the drugs, Jenko asks: "Is that BBQ Cool Ranch?" This foreshadows that Mr. Walters is the head of the drug operation.
- #040
Two of Dave Franco's films, 21 Jump Street (2012) and Warm Bodies (2013), include the same two songs on their respective soundtracks: John Waite's "Missing You" and M83's "Midnight City."
- #041
Before the "non-explosion," close-ups of "OIL", "FUEL" and "&" are shown in that order.
- #042
Jake Johnson and Rob Riggle later worked together again two years later on Let's Be Cops (2014), a very similar film.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- IMDb IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work