The original 21 Jump Street TV show aired from 1987 to 1991. Johnny Depp was the star of the show at the young age of 24, and the series consisted of five seasons worth of crimes solved by an undercover police unit filled with younger looking officers. The show was popular back in the day and like all good things from the ‘80s, it got a reboot. The reboot came out in 2012, which starred Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as two officers who were sent undercover in high school. The film did well enough with fans to warrant a sequel, which came out two years later and was called 22 Jump Street. There was even a 21 Jump Street and Men in Black crossover being planned by Sony before Chris Hemsworth was brought on for the Men in Black reboot.

There are a lot of fascinating details about the making of the first film that some people might not know, especially if they don’t sit down and watch the film with the cast and directors commentary or the Blu-ray bonus features. Here are 21 Details Behind The Making Of 21 Jump Street.

Jonah Hill Was Originally Going To Eliminate Depp's Character

Even though fans were thrilled to see Johnny Depp on the big screen as his famous 21 Jump Street character, they were probably less thrilled to see the character get shot in the throat. Characters Tom Hanson and Doug Penhall might have met their fate at the hands of the dangerous thugs, but Jonah Hill revealed in the featurette, Johnny Depp on Set, that Depp’s character almost met a different fate.

Hill revealed that originally, his character was responsible for Tom Hanson’s fate. He explained that Schmidt originally shot Hanson by accident after he revealed his true identity, but it was ultimately changed for the final cut. 

Channing Tatum Is Actually Good With A Firearm

Thanks to work done in post-production, actors now a days don’t necessarily have to be a good shot in order to be an action star. Schmidt and Jenko are shown as being incredibly well-trained with a firearm since they are police officers, but in real life, Tatum is actually really good with a gun.

Brie Larson revealed in the featurette, Brothers in Arms, that Tatum was able to do a lot of flips and tricks with his gun while on set. The featurette even showed Tatum cocking a firearm with just one hand to Phil Lord’s amazement. Larson also joked that, “You don’t want Jonah to have a gun in his hands.” 

Brie Larson Didn’t Recognize Johnny Depp In Costume

Many fans didn’t recognize the old biker as Johnny Depp until his final scene of 21 Jump Street. Depp was almost unrecognizable in costume, so much so that Brie Larson didn’t recognize him on set. In the featurette, Johnny Depp on Set, Larson revealed that she just thought an old biker was coming over to say hello, but then she realized the actor was saying “Hi, I’m Johnny.”

Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller also revealed in the featurette that Johnny Depp left the set to walk around on Bourbon Street because the actor knew it was the only time he would ever be able to walk around without people noticing him. 

The Baby Pictures Of Jonah Hill And Channing Tatum Are Real

When Schmidt and Jenko go undercover and decide to live with Schmidt’s parents, fans get to see toddler pictures of Schmidt on the wall of his childhood home. In the film’s Blu-ray commentary, Hill explained that the pictures hanging on the wall are actually his baby pictures and his real mom has them hanging up in her house.

He also said that his mom didn’t understand why the joke was funny because she thought he looked gorgeous. Later on in the film, Jenko hangs a childhood picture of himself on the wall before the party, and Tatum revealed that that was also a real picture of him when he was a child. 

They Had To Use CGI Doves Even Though They Had Real Ones

In a film that makes fun of a lot of action movie tropes, 21 Jump Street included a scene with white doves. The scene comes near the end of the film when Schmidt, Jenko, Zack, Delroy, and Roman step out of a limo and walk into the High School prom. Jenko releases a box of Doves just like he had talked about with his friends, but the doves used in the movie were actually added in post-production using CGI.

The filmmakers actually had real doves on set, but they were sleeping since the scene took place at night. In the commentary found on Blu-ray, it’s revealed that they weren’t allowed to wake up the doves and interrupt their sleep patterns, so they were forced to use CGI.

Jonah Hill And Channing Tatum Were Actually Gone On Set

In the film’s Blu-ray commentary, stars Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum joked that they were actually drunk or hungover while filming certain scenes in the movie. When the duo threw the party at Schmidt’s house, Tatum and Hill didn’t have to act like they were gone during the scenes because they actually were.

Hill and Tatum itted that they were actually drank, especially during the scenes where everyone is running away from the house. Hill even said that during his short scene with Dave Franco in the street, you can see Eric punching Schmidt in the chest because Franco was trying to sober Hill up. It probably wouldn’t have been that hard to act gone, but Tatum and Hill took a method acting approach for the scene. 

Jonah Hill Actually Looked Like That In High School 

One of the funnier scenes in the movie comes at the very beginning when Schmidt and Jenko are seen in High School in 2005. Hill and Tatum obviously look nothing like their characters in the movie, so it was hilarious to see Tatum with long locks and Hill with blonde hair and braces.

As it turns out, Hill actually looked similar to his character when he went to High School. Hill revealed in the film’s Blu-ray commentary that his character’s 2005 look was based on what he actually looked like in High School and that he wanted to look like Eminem. Many people aren’t proud of their High School pictures, but since Hill is a celebrity, some of his High School photos have found their way online. 

Johnny Depp Wasn’t Originally In The Movie

When it was announced that Sony was making a 21 Jump Street movie, many people were curious to know if Johnny Depp would be making a cameo in the movie. In a featurette, Johnny Depp on Set, found in the movie’s Blu-ray special features, it was revealed that Depp wasn’t originally in the movie.

Hill and the directors revealed that every time they had an interview about the movie, people would ask about Johnny Depp. With the public's obvious desire to see the actor back in his 21 Jump Street role, it would have been a mistake to not include him. Producer Tania Landau also revealed that they didn’t even approach Depp until the script was in really good shape, but thankfully he accepted their offer to appear. 

It Took Channing Tatum Several Attempts To Jump Over The Car

One of the bigger action sequences of 21 Jump Street comes towards the middle of the film when Schmidt and Jenko are being chased on the freeway. With Schmidt playing Peter in the school’s rendition of Peter Pan, he was forced to run down the freeway in his Peter Pan costume, which clearly doesn’t look as cool as Jenko running and jumping over cars.

At this point in the movie, Jenko had become an expert at sliding and jumping over vehicles, but behind the scenes, it took Tatum several attempts to master the skill. In the Blu-ray featurette, Peter Pan on the Freeway, it is revealed that Tatum originally had trouble clearing the car and even hurt himself a few times in his attempts. 

A Line About Whitney Houston Had To Be Removed

During the Blu-ray commentary for 21 Jump Street, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller revealed that the movie originally had a joke about Whitney Houston in the final cut. The joke came when Chris Parnell’s character is holding auditions for the Peter Pan play and he says, “I , one time, doing [illegal substances] with Willie Nelson’s horse and we were having so much fun.”

The original line was talking about doing illegal substances with Whitney Houston’s niece, but since Houston had recently ed before the film came out, Parnell had to come back to redub the line and say something that matched his lip movements. Also, 200 prints of the film had to be recalled and replaced with the new line about Willie Nelson’s horse.