Is it possible to have the night of your life more than once? We’re about to find out because Lionsgate is developing a Dirty Dancing sequel with Jennifer Grey (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Red Dawn, A Real Pain) reprising her iconic role as Baby Houseman. The surprising project finds Lionsgate revisiting the classic 1987 coming-of-age romance film, which starred Grey as a young woman who falls in love with her dance instructor (Patrick Swayze as Johnny Castle) while spending the summer at a Catskills resort.
Lionsgate has brought aboard Hunger Games and Crazy Rich Asians producers Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson to oversee its highly anticipated sequel to Dirty Dancing, with the studio eyeing a start of production later this year. The screenplay will be written by Emmy and Golden Globe nominee and 2025 Humanitas Prize winner Kim Rosenstock. In addition to her starring role, Grey will executive produce the sequel with Jonathan Levine.
Lionsgate, Grey, & more are stoked to hit the dance floor
“Dirty Dancing remains as beloved today as it was upon its initial release, and we knew that a very special group of people would have to come together for fans to embrace a return to Kellerman’s,” said Adam Fogelson, chair, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. “We are beyond thrilled to announce we have assembled the perfect team to carry this film forward in partnership with Jennifer Grey. There are no better producers for this movie than our longtime partners and friends Nina and Brad from The Hunger Games, and we could not be more excited to have Kim coming on board to write. With this super team now in place, we are moving full steam ahead so that both existing fans and new audiences can discover the magic, the music and the emotion that is Dirty Dancing in a new theatrical film meant for the big screen.”
Jennifer Grey added, “The role of Baby has held a very deep and meaningful place in my heart, as it has in the hearts of so many fans over the years. I’ve long wondered where we might find Baby years later and what her life might be like, but it’s taken time to assemble the kind of people that I felt could be entrusted to build on the legacy of the original film… and I’m excited to say that It looks like the wait will soon be over!”
Nina Jacobson said, “Dirty Dancing is that rare film that is as emotional, exhilarating, and rebellious today as it was the year it was released. To be able to work with Jennifer Grey and Lionsgate on the sequel is a genuine joy for Brad and me. We feel so fortunate to have been invited back to Kellerman’s for one more dance.”
Fond memories of the original
What the what? Actually, you know what? I’ll bite. The upcoming sequel has got to be better than 2004’s Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, right? I grew up watching Dirty Dancing, thanks to my sister. She is roughly four years older than I am, landing directly in the sweet spot for the 1987 classic. She wasn’t a dancer, but she was a world-class baton twirler. Dancing was in her blood, and Swayze’s tight pants and slick moves were quite the draw. Many of my sister’s friends fantasized about being Baby, and I would like to know if the sequel can recapture that magic for a new audience. Maybe Baby is a dance instructor in the sequel, and she watches a young couple fall in love on the dance floor. I’m genuinely curious about how Lionsgate’s Dirty Dancing sequel shakes out.
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Source:
Lionsgate
