Cast, Story & Everything We Know

The 1987 romantic drama dance movie Dirty Dancing is finally getting a proper sequel, and the latest Dirty Dancing 2 news continues to show how all due care is being taken when creating the followup to one of the late Patrick Swayze’s most beloved movies. The 1980s saw the release of many movies that are now considered classics from different genres, and romance films were especially popular. In the years since its release, Dirty Dancing has remained one of the most beloved films of the decade.

Set in 1963, Dirty Dancing tells the story of Frances “Baby” Houseman (Jennifer Grey), a young woman vacationing with her family at an upscale Catskills resort owned by her father’s friend, Max Kellerman. There she meets Johnny Castle (Swayze), the resort’s dance instructor, with whom she starts a romantic relationship. Together they prepare for an important performance at a nearby resort, but they encounter a couple of obstacles along the way, mostly from people who don’t approve of their relationship. Dirty Dancing was a critical and commercial success. Now, almost four decades later, Dirty Dancing 2 is on the horizon.

The Latest Dirty Dancing 2 News

The Sequel Is Delayed

Originally slated for a 2024 release, the latest news regarding Dirty Dancing 2 is that the film has been delayed due to the SAG/AFTRA strike. The ambitious goal of February 2024 was no longer feasible, so the sequel’s release has been pushed to the summer of 2025. Even though the Hollywood strikes have been resolved for more than half-a-year, no one involved with the project has offered any new updates. Without a production start time, it’s unclear exactly where the planned sequel currently stands.

Dirty Dancing 2 Is Confirmed (But Delayed)

The Project Was Announced In 2020

Dirty Dancing 2 was confirmed in 2020, but updates on the development of the project have been scarce ever since. In June 2022, Lionsgate announced the projected release date for the Dirty Dancing sequel, so viewers were expecting to reunite with Baby on February 9, 2024. However, Lionsgate has since changed that Dirty Dancing 2 release date, pushing it back more than a year. Dirty Dancing 2 will now be released in the summer of 2025, but an exact date hasn’t been revealed. With no production updates since that announcement, it’s unclear if that summer date will be kept.

Dirty Dancing 2 Cast

Jennifer Grey Is The Only Confirmed Cast Member Thus Far

Dirty Dancing 2 was announced in 2020, along with the news that Jennifer Grey will return as Baby Houseman to lead the Dirty Dancing sequel cast. Grey’s involvement in Dirty Dancing 2 was confirmed during CinemaCon 2022, and while the movie is already in pre-production, Grey is the only confirmed character from Dirty Dancing to return. Director Jonathan Levine said they are trying to “involve as many people from the original movie as appropriate.“, so it’s plausible that more Dirty Dancing characters will be present in Dirty Dancing 2.

Back in 2022, Grey did express her desire to work with singer and actor Harry Styles in the upcoming sequel, cheekily calling the actor out on The Drew Barrymore Show. Grey would then share the clip of her interview on her official X (formerly Twitter) page, and even tagged the British performer. However, nothing has been announced regarding Styles’ appearance in the sequel.

How Dirty Dancing 2 Will Honor Patrick Swayze

The Late Actor Passed Away In 2009

Very little information about the cast or premise of Dirty Dancing 2 has been shared publicly. One thing which has been confirmed is that, in the wake of Patrick Swayze’s death in 2009, the creative team plans to incorporate his character in Dirty Dancing 2 rather than recast Johnny Castle. Grey explained (via The Express), “What happened, happened, and that will never happen again. There will never be another Johnny. There will never be another Patrick.”

Lionsgate has been negotiating with Swayze’s estate to be able to include the star in the sequel in some way, but his widow, Lisa Niemi Swayze isn’t so sure that Swayze would have been involved in a Dirty Dancing sequel. She’s said in the past that he believed the original movie’s ending was “absolutely perfect” and that Swayze had turned down ideas presented to him for a sequel before, that he “had a high standard, and he wasn’t gonna do it just for the money.”

Dirty Dancing 2 Story

Baby Returns To Kellerman’s For Another Summer

Plot details about Dirty Dancing 2 are a mystery, but the basic idea has already been revealed. Dirty Dancing 2’s story will see Baby returning to Kellerman’s resort for another summer of dancing and romance. Baby’s story is intended to intertwine with that of a new young couple at the resort, and of course, Dirty Dancing 2 will involve a lot of dancing. That would necessitate a time-jump, though it probably wouldn’t take place in the modern day. The original film took place in 1963, but if the real-life time gap is maintained, that would put the sequel in the early 2000s.