Summary
- The release date for Dirty Dancing 2 has been delayed by over a year due to the ongoing strikes in Hollywood, with its release now expected in summer 2025.
- The sequel will need to address the absence of Patrick Swayze’s character, Johnny, likely by portraying his character as having passed away, allowing Baby to work through her grief.
- Dance will continue to be a central theme in Dirty Dancing 2, with Grey’s character possibly using it to find closure and resolution following Johnny’s death. However, audiences will have to wait longer to see where the story goes.
The Dirty Dancing 2 release date has been pushed back by more than a year as the film encounters a new setback. Released in 1987, the original Dirty Dancing stars Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, telling the story of Frances “Baby” Houseman, who falls in love with dance instructor Johnny Castle while vacationing at a resort with her family. A sequel to the film from director Jonathan Levine was announced in 2020 and subsequently set for a February 2024 release.
Now, however, Deadline reports that Lionsgate has delayed Dirty Dancing 2‘s release date by over one year. The sequel, which will see Grey reprise her role, is now expected to bow in the summer of 2025. The delay is due to the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which have essentially brought Hollywood to a standstill.
What Could Dirty Dancing 2 Be About?
The ending to Dirty Dancing doesn’t directly set up a sequel, but it does provide some indication of what could be next. The ending sees the story resolve itself on a happy note, with Baby and her father reconciling their differences and a romantic future teased for Grey’s character and Johnny. Despite the ending promising a happy future for Baby and Johnny, Swayze’s death in 2009 from pancreatic cancer means the sequel won’t be catching up with the two characters together.
The follow-up film will have the difficult task of explaining Johnny’s absence. With Grey having previously spoken about wanting Dirty Dancing 2 to honor Swazye’s memory, it seems likely that the film will feature Johnny having passed away. If this is indeed the case, the sequel could see Baby attempting to work through her grief.
With dance playing a central role in the first movie, it seems like the art form will once be central in Dirty Dancing 2, as the film’s title would suggest. As dance is such a physical expression of being, it’s possible it will play a crucial role in Grey’s character finding some form of closure regarding Johnny’s death. Unfortunately, however, with Dirty Dancing 2‘s latest release date delay, it’ll be quite a while before audiences find out where the story will go in the next chapter.
Source: Deadline
