Julia Stiles brings a Save the Last Dance reunion to DWTS 25 years later
Somewhere, a millennial just felt a disturbance in the Force and doesn't know why. It's Julia Stiles. It's always been Julia Stiles.
Twenty-five years after Save the Last Dance made every teenager believe a Juilliard audition could be fixed with hip-hop and a very supportive boyfriend, Stiles is competing on Dancing with the Stars — and her old movie family crashed the announcement.
The reunion part, aka why I'm emotional at my desk
When the Season 35 cast was revealed on Good Morning America, producers rolled surprise video messages from her Save the Last Dance co-stars Kerry Washington and Sean Patrick Thomas. Washington hyped up her moves like the supportive on-screen sister she always was, while Thomas went straight for the bit, joking on GMA:
"From what I remember, you got into Juilliard."
Sir. SIR. That's Sara Johnson's resume, and you know it.
About that Juilliard thing
In a plot twist nobody had on their 2026 bingo card, Stiles spent the run-up to the premiere dismantling her own myth. In a TikTok with her pro partner Ezra Sosa, she confirmed, via Just Jared, a few inconvenient truths:
- No, she never attended Juilliard. That was the character, sweeties.
- Yes, a body double handled much of the movie's hardest choreography.
- No, she hasn't really danced since the film. As in, since two thousand and one.
Which makes this casting better, not worse. Jenna Dewan walks into that ballroom with a professional dance career. Stiles walks in with vibes, a quarter-century-old montage, and a caption promising she's "ready to SLAY ON DWTS." That's the underdog arc the show was built on.
Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz's Buffy reunion at the Emmys came with shade
The stakes
She dances on night two of the premiere — the night one woman goes home immediately, thanks to this season's charming new double-elimination twist. So the nostalgia could be extremely short-lived, which is the most 2026 thing imaginable.
But if she survives? There is a whole season of theme weeks ahead, and if this show does not eventually give us a Save the Last Dance routine, I will be filing a formal complaint with whoever handles ballroom crimes.
Previously we wrote: Michael J. Fox's Bob Hope Humanitarian Award speech at the Emmys left the room in tears
