Dirty Dancing wasn’t kidding when it said “nobody puts Baby in the corner.” Lionsgate has confirmed a sequel to the classic, with Jennifer Grey set to reprise her starring role.
For a few weeks now, rumours have been swirling around the dance floor (and our news feeds) about an upcoming Dirty Dancing 2. The news has now been confirmed that, some time in the future, we will all be having the time of our lives once again.
Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheiner has stated the sequel will “be exactly the kind of romantic, nostalgic movie that the franchise’s fans have been waiting for and that have made it the biggest-selling library title in the company’s history.”
For anyone unaware of the classic, Dirty Dancing tells the story of Frances “Baby” Houseman, a teenage girl who falls passionately in love with Johnny Castle, a handsome dance instructor played by the drool-worthy Patrick Swayze. Winning an Oscar and a Golden Globe for the film’s lead song “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” Dirty Dancing left us with an iconic dance routine, quotable lines we now see on mugs throughout stores and a love story that can easily be re-watched over and over again.
33 years after the romantic drama was first released, Grey, now 60, is now confirmed to not only reprise her role as Baby but also to serve as an executive producer alongside directors Jonathan Levine and Gillian Bohrer, best known for Warm Bodies and Long Shot. It has also been announced that Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis, the duo behind Five Feet Apart and the gripping horror The Curse of La Llorona, will be writing the screenplay.
It’s too early to know anything about the specifics of the story or who else will be joining Grey in the cast at the moment. But, what we do know, is that we can perhaps expect some dancing and that it will centre on Baby in her 50’s. We will also have to keep our eyes peeled for news on who will be replacing the fantastic Patrick Swayze, who sadly passed away in 2009.
Continuing the Dirty Dancing franchise has been attempted in the past with the 2004 prequel Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. However, this lacked the excitement and hype of the first film. With the success of other iconic sequels such as Mamma Mia 2, we can only hope that a Dirty Dancing 2 will follow in the same tracks, bringing the same passion and spark of the film we’ve all loved for years.
Words by Lucy Lillystone
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