'Hairspray 2' to involve Beatlemania

The sequel to last year's hit musical Hairspray will focus on the British music invasion of the US in the '60s.

Director Adam Shankman told Entertainment Weekly that the story will centre on Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) and her friends as they move into the "next era of music".

He said: "That period was superpolitical, it was a time of serious change. We're trying to track, in a comedic way, the historical elements."

Shankman added that a script for the sequel has yet to come together, saying: "We just got an outline and some ideas from John Waters, and now we're going out to writers."

John Travolta recently revealed that he will not reprise his role as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray 2.