Because the world has been waiting, there are now not one but two Showgirls sequels.

Showgirls is a 1995 cult classic by Paul Verhoeven, which starred Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan and Gina Gershon. It was a critical disaster but later gained a dedicated following on DVD and in late night theatres, in which it is sometimes screened Rocky Horror style with audience participation.

The first sequel, from German “writer/director” Marc Vorlander, is Showgirls 2: The Story of Hope. Penny Hope was a secondary dancer character played by Rena Riffel in the original. Vorlander’s story is, according to filme site Empire.com, about a stripper who is killed by contaminated cocaine. So, her brother travels to Frankfurt to find the person responsible and exact revenge.

Empire showcased the graphic, not safe for work, and rather-less-than-Hollywood-quality trailer for that one a couple of weeks ago. And then…

Well, it seems Rena Riffel – Penny Hope herself! – is miffed about the film and is working on her own version.

“Some media outlets have been reporting and posting about a Showgirls follow-up feature called Showgirls 2, which I am not affiliated with, in any way, shape or form. I’ll admit, I was contacted by the German Showgirls fan-turned-”Hollywood director” to star in his first feature film. However, it was so horrifically graphic and out of the show’s original story theme that I needed to withdraw from those talks,” Riffel says in a statement, also found on Empire.com.

She goes on to state, “I am officially working on my own Showgirls follow-up feature film. Recently, I posted a short sequel teaser on YouTube, which I wrote and directed myself. The teaser is very different than my feature film screenplay, but I wanted to get the ball rolling and have some fun because everyone seems to be so excited, including me!

“My film is titled Showgirl, being that I am the last and only ’showgirl’ still keeping that flame alive. It’s sort of a… ‘Whatever happened to Penny Hope?’ – 15 years later, story. Showgirl is my take on what becomes of a thirty-something year-old stripper who is still obsessed with dancing and fame.”

Riffel is reportedly hoping to work again with some of the original cast on the film, like Gershon and Berkley, and says she is lining up funding to shoot this summer.