Dirty Dancing Sequel Moving Forward Nearly 40 Years After Film Release

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Nobody can put Jennifer Greyinto a corner.

She’s returning to the big screen! Nearly 40 years after starring in Dirty Dancing with the late Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey will reprise her iconic role as Frances “Baby” Houseman in a new sequel to the beloved 1987 film. Lionsgate recently announced the exciting news.

Jennifer, 65, shared in a statement on January 27th that the character of Baby is very special to her – and to many fans. She’s often thought about what Baby’s life would be like years later, but wanted to wait until she found the right team to respectfully continue the story started by the original film.

She happily announced that the long-awaited sequel is finally moving forward! Lionsgate has confirmed that production will begin in the next few months.

Jennifer will not only star in the new film, but also serve as an executive producer alongside Jonathan Levine. She’s assembling a talented team to continue the franchise’s story, with Kim Rosenstock, the showrunner of Dying for Sex, writing the screenplay. Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson, both known for their work on The Hunger Games and Crazy Rich Asians, will be heading up the production.

This news celebrates Matthew Broderick’s first time returning to the famous role of Ferris Bueller since the 1980s. Previously, Patrick Swayze briefly revisited his character, Johnny Castle, in the 2004 film Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, which also featured Diego Luna and Romola Garai. Swayze passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2009 at the age of 57.

Jennifer signed on for the sequel in 2020. She’s happy to return to the role, but she acknowledges the film will be different without the energy her fellow actor brought to it.

She told People magazine that you can’t replace someone who has died. Instead of trying to recreate something special, you should always aim for something new and unique.

I can’t get it out of my head, honestly. She’ll always remember the dances, especially that lift at the very end of the movie. It was just… everything! I replay it constantly, and it still gives me chills.

Jennifer told TopMob News last January that Patrick was the ideal partner for the dance sequence. “He was an incredibly skilled ballet dancer, used to lifting people, and very strong,” she explained. “By the end of filming, I completely trusted him with everything.”

Keep reading to see more swingin’ facts about the film…

In 2017, screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein shared with Cosmo that the movie Dirty Dancing almost had a different title – I Was a Teenage Mambo Queen. She explained that Canadian border officials initially held up the early footage, believing it was a pornographic film.

Before Patrick Swayze landed the iconic role of dance instructor Johnny Castle, several other actors were in the running, including Billy Zane, Benicio Del Toro, and Val Kilmer. Swayze ultimately got the part thanks to his extensive dance training with renowned schools like Harkness and Joffrey Ballet, and the role launched him to superstardom.

Patrick Swayze nearly didn’t take the role in Dirty Dancing because of a bad knee injury he’d suffered while performing on Broadway. He’d even listed “no dancing” on his resume due to it.

Before Jennifer Grey landed the role of Baby, both Sarah Jessica Parker and Winona Ryder tried out for the part. Grey later told The New York Times she earned $50,000 for her work in the movie.

Grey, who wasn’t a professional dancer, confessed she was scared to dance with Swayze, even though they had previously worked together on the movie Red Dawn.

Jennifer Grey described Patrick Swayze as a fantastic and fearless dancer in a 2016 interview with The Hollywood Reporter. She explained their dynamic was like a marriage of opposites – he was willing to try anything, while she was naturally cautious. She also playfully noted their contrasting backgrounds, with him not being Jewish and her having a strong Jewish identity, as contributing to this complementary pairing.

At first, the two main actors didn’t get along, frequently disagreeing about how to approach their performances.

In his 2009 autobiography, The Time of My Life, Swayze described how she was very sensitive and would often cry if anyone offered criticism. He also noted she could be unexpectedly playful, sometimes breaking up scenes with laughter and requiring multiple retakes.

Choreographer Kenny Ortega drew inspiration from the real-life relationship between the actors to create the on-screen chemistry between Johnny and Baby.

In 2017, Ortega told People magazine that the two of them always brought a lot of energy to every situation. Their relationship was a mix of both conflict and affection, and there was an undeniable connection between them. He described them as ‘human fireworks’ – a vibrant and unpredictable pair.

The film’s famous lift scene in the lake proved to be a pivotal moment for Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, bringing them closer together as they worked through the challenging sequence.

In his autobiography, Swayze described the lake as shockingly cold and explained they had to film the scene many times. He wrote that even though Jennifer Grey was petite, lifting someone in the water made her feel incredibly heavy – like she weighed 500 pounds.

All their effort paid off, as Grey later wrote in her 2022 memoir, Out of the Corner, that she deliberately waited to perform the famous lift until filming the very last dance scene with Swayze.

She explained that the connection we witnessed between them in that scene was genuine. It was filled with true gratitude, respect, and care. She questioned, ‘If that isn’t love, then what is?’

The famous scene where Baby giggles as Johnny lightly runs his fingers down her arm wasn’t planned. Grey was genuinely ticklish, and Swayze’s frustrated reaction was completely authentic.

Bergstein explained to Cosmo that the team had forgotten about the footage. They reshot the scene without the laughter, and it wasn’t until the editor discovered the original clip that they remembered it existed. Everyone – the team, Jennifer, and Patrick – found it hilarious when they finally saw it, and they decided to include it in the film because of how funny it was.

Originally, Lynne Lipton was cast as the baby’s mother, but she had to be replaced by Kelly Bishop after falling ill during the first week of filming. Bishop was initially playing Vivian Pressman, a guest at the resort who was attracted to Johnny. After the switch, the role of Vivian was taken over by Miranda Garrison, who was the film’s assistant choreographer.

Originally, sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer was going to play the role of Mrs. Schumacher. However, she decided not to take the part after finding out the character was actually the one stealing from the resort.

Producers requested that Bergstein remove Penny’s abortion storyline to attract a corporate sponsor, but she wouldn’t agree to the change.

The writer admitted they’d always expected this outcome. They’d previously warned that removing a key element would cause the whole thing to collapse – that without it, the story wouldn’t make sense. But those in charge dismissed the concern, saying they should have considered it earlier, and ultimately decided against making the change.

Bergstein says that after seeing the first version of the movie, several producers weren’t confident it would succeed.

In a 2017 interview with Today, she shared that producer Aaron Ross suggested they destroy the original film and collect the insurance money, adding that everyone kept telling them it wasn’t worth much.

Oh my gosh, the soundtrack! It was number one on Billboard for over four months – can you believe it?! And it’s sold over 14 million copies! I practically wore the cassette out! And “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life”? It won an Oscar! It’s just… perfection. I still get chills every time I hear it. It’s not just a song, it’s everything.

Jane Brucker, who played Lisa – Baby’s somewhat ditzy older sister – actually wrote and performed the song “Hula Hana” during the talent show rehearsal scene in the movie.

Patrick Swayze co-wrote and performed the song “She’s Like the Wind,” but it was first meant for the soundtrack of his 1984 comedy, Grandview, U.S.A. Rob Lowe shared on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast in 2020 that Swayze also tried to include the song in their 1986 movie, Youngbloods.

Matthew Broderick, who was dating Jennifer Grey during filming, makes a brief, uncredited appearance in the movie’s last scene as a member of the audience at the talent show.

18. Dirty Dancing became the first film to sell more than a million copies for home video.

A prequel called Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights came out in 2004. More recently, in 2015, a television remake featuring Abigail Breslin as Baby was broadcast.

In 2020, TopMob News reported that Jennifer Grey would be both executive producer and star in a remake of Dirty Dancing. Grey recently told The Los Angeles Times that she will reprise her role as Baby in the new film, though the plot details remain undisclosed.

She explained she was fascinated by exploring the story’s impact over time, specifically imagining what life would be like for the main character 30 years later in the 1990s. She wanted to see how the original story would resonate with a new audience and how the character’s experiences would evolve and remain meaningful through a different perspective.

Grey also confirmed the movie will be released Valentine’s Day 2024.

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2026-01-27 23:49