The trailer for the Whitney Houston biopic, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, has arrived and Naomi Ackie has nailed her transformation into the late superstar.
Directed by Kasi Lemons, the biopic will star Ackie in the lead and boasts a star-studded cast including Stanley Tucci, Clarke Peters and Ashton Sanders.
Houston became one of the best-selling singers of all time with over 200million records sold worldwide, with classics such as I Will Always Love You, Saving All My Love For and the song of which the biopic is named after, I Wanna Dance With Somebody.
The iconic musician died in February 2012 after accidentally drowning in a bathtub.
The trailer dropped on Thursday and pulls no punches, opening with British actress Ackie belting out a piercing note from the titular dance track.
It cuts to Houston being discovered by Clive Davis (Tucci) in a moody nightclub and then signing her groundbreaking deal with the legendary music mogul. Houston is seen celebrating the moment her song is played on the radio with a character presumed to be her real life best friend Robyn Crawford.
Interspersed with scenes of her singing in church, recording in the studio and performing to thousands, Houston is heard saying: ‘My dream? Sing how I want to sing, be how I want to be.’
The trailer will no doubt give fans chills as it also features Ackie’s recreation of Houston’s iconic rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, performed at the Super Bowl in 1991.
A synopsis for the biopic reads: ‘The film is a no-holds-barred portrait of the complex and multifaceted woman behind The Voice.
‘From New Jersey choir girl to one of the best-selling and most awarded recording artists of all time, audiences are taken on an inspirational, poignant—and so emotional—journey through Houston’s trailblazing life and career, with show-stopping performances and a soundtrack of the icon’s most beloved hits as you’ve never heard them before.
‘Don’t you wanna dance?’
The trailer appears to be taking more of a positive approach to looking back at Houston’s life, with no mention of her turbulent marriage with Bobby Brown or her lifelong substance abuse issues.
It’s not known if the film will depict Houston’s tragic end – the singer died on February 11, 2012 at the age of 48 on the night she was due to attend Davis’ pre-Grammys party.
She was found dead in a bathtub at The Beverly Hilton hotel with her cause of death later determined to be accidental drowning with heart disease and cocaine use as contributing factors.
Ackie, 30, rose to fame starring in Doctor Who as Jen in 2015 before going on to land roles in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Master of None.
In 2020, she won the Bafta TV award for best supporting actress thanks to her performance in The End of the F*****g World.
I Wanna Dance With Somebody hits cinemas on Boxing Day (December 26).
