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Dirty Dancing star Jennifer Gray spills details on sequel and reveals MULTIPLE characters from 1987 original will be back
Dirty Dancing star Jennifer Gray has released a few new details about the upcoming sequel, including that multiple characters from the original will return.
Jennifer, 62, dished up Additional that audiences heading to the sequel will be treated to the sight of her own “Baby, quite a few years older” character.
She added, “You’ll see other characters coming from the original,” acknowledging that making the sequel will be “tricky and exciting.”
Today: Dirty Dancing star Jennifer Gray has released a few new details about the sequel – including that multiple characters from the original will be back; she is pictured in May
Jennifer noted that the sequel will not only bring back some old faces, but also an old set piece – a made-up Catskills resort called Kellerman’s.
She starred in the original 1987 film as a 1960s high school girl who vacations with her parents at Kellerman’s and falls for the resort’s dance instructor, Johnny Castle, played by Patrick Swayze.
Patrick passed away in 2009 at the age of 57 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, and Jennifer has previously confessed that his absence will make the sequel a challenge.
“What happened has happened and it will never happen again,” she said of the original movie in a recent interview with Weekly entertainment.
Premise: She starred in the original 1987 movie as a 1960s high school girl who vacations with her parents at Kellerman’s
The time of her life: While on vacation, she falls for the resort’s resident dance instructor, Johnny Castle, played by Patrick Swayze
“There will never be another Johnny. There will never be another Patrick. This sequel should be its own standalone piece. It’s very difficult.’
When asked about the sequel in general, she replied, “Unfortunately I can’t tell you much, but I’ll tell you it will be about Baby.” It will involve Kellerman’s. There will be music.’
Jennifer, who now has an adult daughter, added self-deprecatingly, “Unless there’s a lot of CGI, Baby will get a little older.”
Dear Deceaseds: Patrick passed away in 2009 at the age of 57 after a battle with pancreatic cancer; he is pictured two years earlier
Magic: “What happened has happened and will never happen again,” she said of the original movie in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly
She continued, “It’s going to be Kellerman’s, music, dance, love story, romance. I’m just so super committed and invested in making a fresh version of it [take].’
She explained the logistics, sharing, “There’s a script, we’re working on the script. We will record it in the spring of 2023 and it will be released on February 9, 2024.”
Dirty Dancing was directed by Emile Ardolino, who later made Sister Act before dying of AIDS complications in 1993 at age 50.
The upcoming sequel will be directed by Jonathan Levine, whose filmography includes such films as 50/50 and Warm Bodies.
‘There will never be another Johnny’: Jennifer said, ‘There will never be another Patrick’, adding, ‘This sequel has to be its own standalone piece’ and admitting, ‘It’s very awkward’