The first trailer for the upcoming Whitney Houston biopic has been revealed. Titled after her 1987 chart-topping single of the same name, I Wanna Dance With Somebody is slated for release in December.
Directed by Kasi Lemmons and written by Anthony McCarten, the new film will chronicle the life and career of the late R&B legend. I Wanna Dance With Somebody features Naomi Ackie in the role of Whitney Houston.
“She’s been elevated in my life for so long that it felt like an impossible thing to achieve at times,” Ackie said in an interview with People. “But so many people told me the same thing: If I wasn’t scared and nervous, they’d think something was wrong with me.”
“The biggest challenge was letting my fear of the magnitude of this task take a back seat,” added the Star Wars actress. “Nothing good comes from sitting in fear for too long.”
Alongside Ackie, the film also stars Ashton Sanders as Bobby Brown, Stanley Tucci as Clive Davis, Nafessa Williams as Robyn Crawford, Clarke Peters as John Houston, and Tamara Tunie as Cissy Houston, Whitney’s mother.
“She was a tremendous, incomparable artist, and her story is as awe-inspiring as it is tragic,” Lemmons told Deadline last year. “I feel privileged to be part of bringing her life story and music to the audience.”
I Wanna Dance With Somebody is set to hit theaters on December 21, 2022.
Take a look at the trailer below.