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It’s official! We are going to have the time of our lives, again, as Lionsgate has officially given “Dirty Dancing 2” a release date. Deadline reported that the sequel will be released on Feb. 9, 2024, so you have plenty of time to get your iconic “Dirty Dancing” lift just right. (Warning: The lift is not for everyone).
Jennifer Grey will star in the sequel, though she admits it will be very difficult to capture the magic of the original without Patrick Swayze. Swayze, of course, played the leading male role of Johnny Castle — but the actor died in 2009 from pancreatic cancer.
While it will be hard to imagine Frances “Baby” Houseman without her Johnny, Grey said that the screenwriters are doing their best to honor Swayze’s legacy without attempting to replace him.
“To make a movie without Patrick is already an enormous challenge. It will never be that movie, and it should never try to be that movie. It will be its own movie if I have anything to do with it.” Grey told ET Online. She added about the sequel, “It’s on a track. It’s more on track than it’s ever been. It’s more real than it’s ever been.”
Details about the “Dirty Dancing” sequel are hush-hush, but Jonathan Levine is directing. Levine previously directed “50/50,” “The Wackness” and “Warm Bodies.” The screenplay is being penned by Levine, Elizabeth Chomko, Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis.
There’s no word yet on who else will appear in the sequel, but Levine has said he wants to bring back as many people as possible from the original film. We also know that it will take place at Kellerman’s, the same Catskills resort as the original. Production is expected to begin later this year.
In 2004, a prequel was made starring Diego Luna called “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights.” In 2017, a made-for-television version of “Dirty Dancing” starred Abigail Breslin, Debra Messing, Bruce Greenwood, Sarah Hyland, Nicole Scherzinger and Tony Roberts. Both were widely panned.
However, the stage remake that debuted in London’s West End in 2006 — which was written by the original creator of “Dirty Dancing,” Eleanor Bergstein — got better marks. Here’s hoping the sequel does the original justice!
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