Baby is breaking free from the corner after 39 years.
The Dirty Dancing sequel is officially moving forward at Lionsgate. Per The Hollywood Reporter, production on the sequel is slated to begin later this year. Producers Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson will oversee the feature project for Lionsgate. Additionally, Kim Rosenstock (Dying for Sex) is writing the script.
Lionsgate’s Dirty Dancing sequel was first announced in 2020. Back then, Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis (Five Feet Apart) were reported to be writing the screenplay. Two years later, Jonathan Levine (Long Shot, Warm Bodies) signed on to direct the legacy sequel.
However, while Levine is still attached to the project as an executive producer, he will not direct it, meaning the search is on for a new filmmaker to get behind the camera.
Jennifer Grey remains onboard to executive produce and reprise her role of Frances “Baby” Houseman in the untitled Dirty Dancing sequel. In a new statement, Grey said the following about being able to reprise her famous ’80s role:
“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!”
Plot details remain under wraps for the sequel. With the change in writers, it’s unclear if the movie’s logline from 2022 is still accurate. That one read, “Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman returns to Kellerman’s in the 1990s. Like the original, the sequel will be a coming-of-age romance centered on the experience of a young woman at the summer camp, but Baby’s own journey will intertwine with this to create a multi-layered narrative.”
We’ll keep you posted as more information about Dirty Dancing gets released.
Do you think Dirty Dancing needs a legacy sequel? Will you be watching?
