Dirty Dancing(1987); Jonathan Levine.Photo: Vestron Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection; Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Dirty Dancingis coming back, ’90s style.
The highly anticipated sequel to the 1987 romantic dance drama has landed a director —Warm Bodies' andSnatched’sJonathan Levine— and is set to take place in the 1990s at Kellerman’s, the same fictional Catskills resort as the original,Deadlinereports.
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Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey inDirty Dancing(1987).Courtesy Everett Collection
RELATED GALLERY:The Cast ofDirty Dancing: Where Are They Now?
Additionally, the director (who will also co-write alongsideWhat They Hadwriter-director Elizabeth Chomko) said Grey, 62, may not be the only original cast member to return, 35 years after the first film hit theaters.
“We are about to talk to people and are exploring that,” he teased — but “the most important thing for us washaving Jennifer on board.”
“She is an invaluable collaborator,” he told Deadline. “We’re going to try to involve as many people from the original as is appropriate. We want to be respectful in every way.”
RELATED VIDEO: Jennifer Grey Reveals Whom She’d Cast in aDirty DancingBig-Screen Remake
Grey, who is also set to executive produce the sequel, told PEOPLE back in November 2020 that the film won’t try to recapture the chemistry she had withSwayze, who died in 2009 of pancreatic cancer at age 57.
“All I can say isthere is no replacinganyone who’s passed — you never try to repeat anything that’s magic like that,” she said at the time. “You just go for something different.”
Levine told Deadline that"the originalDirty Dancinghas always been one of my favorite films," and that he “fell in love with the characters (new and old), the world of 1990s Catskills New York” while co-writing the upcoming film.
He added, “I can’t wait to collaborate with Jennifer to bring thisbeautiful story of summer and romance and dancingto a generation of new fans. And to the longtime ones, I promise we will not ruin your childhood. We will tackle the assignment with sophistication, ambition, and, above all, love.”
source: people.com
