‘Dirty Dancing,’ the 1987 classic starring Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze, will have its long-awaited sequel, a project announced in 2022 and about which Lionsgate studio indicated Tuesday that it is moving forward.
Grey, 65, will reprise her role as Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman, who in the original film was a 17-year-old teenager who ends up falling in love with her dance teacher (Swayze) during their summer vacation.
The film grossed $214 million at the worldwide box office (178 million euros), equivalent to $608 million in today’s dollars (508 million euros), and won an Oscar for Best Original Song for ‘(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life’.
On this occasion, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Grey will also serve as executive producer. Swayze, who also achieved fame with that film, died of pancreatic cancer in 2009.
“‘Dirty Dancing’ is still as beloved today as it was at its premiere. We knew it took a very special group for fans to embrace a return to (the resort) Kellerman. We are thrilled to announce that we have assembled the perfect team to take this film forward,” Lionsgate Motion Picture Group president Adam Fogelson says in a statement.
Grey adds that the role of Baby has always held a “very special and meaningful” place in her heart.
“For a long time I wondered where Baby would be years later and what her life would be like, but it took time to put together the right people I could trust to carry on the legacy of the original film,” adds the actress, whose career includes titles such as ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ (‘All in a Day’, 1986) or ‘Red Dawn’ (‘Amanecer rojo’, 1984), where she coincided with Swayze.
Since the premiere of ‘Dirty Dancing’ in 1987 there has been the prequel ‘Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights’ (2004), starring Mexico’s Diego Luna, as well as a stage musical and a television series.
It has not yet been decided who will direct the sequel, according to The Hollywood Reporter, reported Agencia EFE, because although at first it was said that Jonathan Levine would be in charge, Levine is now only listed as executive producer.
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