Jupiter Ascending: Out of this world

Channing Tatum plays a half-human, half-wolf warrior from outer space in Jupiter Ascending. Photo / Warner Brothers

It’s a wild ride for all in Jupiter Ascending, writes Leena Tailor.

It could have easily gone the other way. Had Magic Mike been a film about female strippers played by a bunch of Hollywood starlets, chances are the actresses would have lost a sizable chunk of Tinseltown credibility and subsequently been showered with undesirable scripts.

For Channing Tatum, the man-candy blockbuster based on his own stripper past set off a whirlwind ride to becoming one of Hollywood's most sought-after stars.

"It depends on the movie and who's directing that movie," he says. "I think there have been females who have played strippers and hookers and not [lost credibility]. It just depends on how good the movie is and if it's done in a tasteful manner or not.

"I got lucky because Magic Mike came at a time when [the book] 50 Shades of Grey was out and women were like, 'Woo! What else have we got? We're all reading together, now let's all go see this crazy stripper movie together!' So it has been a fun ride and I've got to do a lot of cool stuff."

That includes projects ranging from Foxcatcher to The Book of Life and now perhaps his most challenging role yet - in Jupiter Ascending, a 3D sci-fi thriller from Lana and Andy Wachowski, the siblings behind Cloud Atlas and The Matrix.

Tatum, 34, plays half-human/half-wolf warrior Caine Wise, who is sent to Earth to inform Chicago maid Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis), that she is next in line to inherit Earth from a kingdom ruling the universe.

Both sci-fi nerds, Tatum and Kunis jumped at the chance to work with the Wachowskis.

"It was more than, 'I'm a fan'," says Tatum. "I'm like a fan fan. They're incredible. You sign up to do a movie with 'the Whoas', as I call them, and you know you're going on an adventure. We got our money's worth out of the ride. We left our blood, sweat and tears on the set."

Those physical challenges were unlike anything the actors had been through in their long-spanning careers.

Kunis, 31, worked out in preparation for donning Swarovski gowns weighing more than 20kg, in addition to 18kg crowns, and Tatum came to grips with Caine's gravity boots - skating on ceilings one minute and smacking into walls the next.

"They said it would be the most physically challenging role I ever had and that was to say the least," says Tatum. "I'm not sure if I passed the test. It broke me.

"My character is a hybrid, so we had to develop a style of fighting that is unlike anything you've seen before, plus he has these gravity boots, which redirect the force of gravity.

"We had to figure out how to use these things that have never been used before and there's no technique to learn it - it's trial and error."

Adds Kunis: "They run you ragged ... they murder you. They test you and every ability you have. If you think you're great, just wait - they'll put you in you place quickly. It's amazing.

Watch the trailer for Jupiter Ascending here:

"Even the things that the Wachowskis put the costume designer through are unlike anything I've ever seen. An hour before they shoot, they'll say, 'So, now we don't want this. We want an extravagant gown made of jewels and feathers. You've got 45 minutes.'"

Kunis has a five-month-old daughter with Ashton Kutcher, and says Jupiter is the last fans will see of her on-screen for a while. Tatum's gearing up for hotly anticipated Magic Mike XXL.

The sequel follows the clan on a road trip to a stripper convention and will "revolutionise male stripping ... which isn't hard to do".

The married father-of-one also has The Hateful Eight, co-starring Samuel L Jackson, Hail, Caesar! and X Men: Apocalypse in the works.

It's a long way from the "menacing edginess" that had critics taking note of his appearance in A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints at Sundance in 2006.

Has the Alabama native had to smooth a few edges to step into Hollywood's leading man stature?

"I don't know if these edges smooth that well! These edges are in other people's hands in terms of how they present roles.

"I just like doing different stuff. I did four completely different movies back-to-back and they could not have been more different - from [Foxcatcher director] Bennett Miller, a really dark weird thing that's so far away from this, to Jump Street.

"So I'm not sure if I trying to smooth out - more just trying to find out which characteristics of myself to pop up."

Jupiter Ascending is screening now.