25 YEARS AFTER SAVE THE LAST DANCE, JULIA STILES AND SEAN PATRICK THOMAS HAVE GIVEN FANS A REUNION THEY NEVER EXPECTED — AND THE STORY BEHIND THEIR DANCING WITH THE STARS MOMENT MAKES IT EVEN MORE SPECIAL! For a generation of moviegoers, Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas will always be remembered as Sara and Derek, the unforgettable couple whose love story unfolded through dance. Now, more than two decades later, the former costars have found themselves sharing the spotlight again as DWTS pays tribute to the beloved film. Julia has opened up about bringing Sean onto the stage for the nostalgic homage, offering a glimpse into how the reunion came together and what it meant to revisit a movie that still holds a special place in fans’ hearts.

Julia Stiles knows exactly what Dancing With the Stars fans want to see — and she gives them even more.

On Tuesday’s episode of the reality dance spectacular, Stiles and her pro partner, Ezra Sosa, finally pulled off an homage that viewers had been waiting for. During “Super Bowl Night,” the pair danced a jazz routine to Jennifer Lopez’s “Jenny From the Block,” which cut away to a reinterpretation of Stiles’ iconic Juilliard audition from Save the Last Dance.

“Oh my god. I seriously have been wanting a do-over on that movie for 25 years, and I never knew that I would get it on my favorite TV show on the planet!” Stiles gushed to Entertainment Tonight after she and Sosa survived week 5’s shocking elimination. “I loved every minute of it.”

Ever the entertainer, Stiles wasn’t simply content to recreate the oddball choreography her character Sara Johnson nails during her big tryout. She brought her costar from the 2001 classic onto the stage.

Eagle-eyed DWTS viewers noticed Sean Patrick Thomas in the audience even before Stiles stepped out onto the ballroom, indicating that something special was afoot. But when Sosa fled to the perimeter of the stage during their routine to give Stiles maximal space to bust her famous moves, the camera cut to a shot of Sosa and Thomas standing side by side, perfectly recreating the look Thomas’ Derek gives Sara during the audition scene.

When asked by ET’s Denny Directo how it all came together, Sosa had one word: “Alfonso.”

It was cohost and season 19 winner Alfonso Ribeiro who pulled Sosa aside during their dress rehearsal, the dancer revealed, and said, “‘I know Sean’s going to be here. He has to be included somehow…’ We just didn’t know how we could pull it off. But luckily, we got production involved. They were down for it, and it was like the cherry on top to this performance.”

When asked how she felt about Thomas’ surprise cameo, Stiles enthused, “Oh, it was so nice. So nice to know that he was there. I got to see [him] before the show started. I got to wave and it was full circle. I had the best time.”

She then detailed how she was “goofing it during the dress rehearsal” because of all the added elements — not just the Thomas cameo, but the “costumes, the props, all the things, the cameras [and] the red light and where to look. He was pissed at me! And I was like, ‘It’s okay.’”

And it was okay.

Stiles and Sosa received their most glowing raves from the judges thus far, which gave way to their highest score yet: a 33 (excluding guest judge Joe Buck’s 9, their combined score would have been a 24).

Judge Bruno Tonioli told Stiles, “I love the tribute to your own hit, of course, but the whole routine — not just the dancing — the interpretation, the construction, the way you play the character. Your best one so far.” Carrie Ann Inaba concurred, heartily adding, “That was so great. So wonderful to see you dancing like that with that confidence and that kind of grit, girl!”

Dancing With the Stars airs every Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+, and streams the next day on Hulu.