Patrick Swayze’s wife, Lisa Niemi, recently revealed that the late actor would not have chosen to participate in the upcoming Dirty Dancing sequel if he was still alive.
Swayze starred as the beloved Johnny Castle in the iconic flick, which was first released in August of 1987. The late actor sadly passed away in 2009 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
It was first announced in 2020 that the film would get a sequel, which is slated to release in 2024. In light of the upcoming 35th anniversary of Dirty Dancing, the 66-year-old said earlier this week that her husband would have opted out of the project, during a conversation with Entertainment Tonight.
“He wouldn’t do it again,” she told ET’s Kevin Frazier. “[The way he left it] he was perfect. There were several iterations of a script for that film, but Patrick’s level was high and he just wasn’t going to do it for the money.”
She continued, “Dirty dancing was like lightning in a bottle. I don’t think you can ever imitate anything.”
Even though Nimi feels that the upcoming film can never live up to the unforgettable performance of her beloved husband, she still has high hopes from the project. “I think you always have to start fresh, but if they’re going to do it, I hope it’s the best and it has its own character, and personality and source of inspiration,” she said.
Nimi also reminded her late husband of the love he received from fans after Dirty Dancing hit the big screen, which continues in the years since his death.
“It’s really unbelievable,” she said. “When Patrick was still alive, he would always say, ‘I’m on my second generation of fans’ … he would be approached by young women who weren’t even born when the movie came out.”
For any artist, she said, “what more could you ask for for their work than to live like this and make such an impact in such a positive way.”
According to Variety, the filmmakers are in talks with Swayze’s estate on the Dirty Dancing sequel to incorporate his presence in the film in some way. Jennifer Gray, the late actor’s co-star, will also reprise her role as Francis “Baby” Houseman.