The first trailer for the upcoming Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody has finally been released. In 2020, it was announced by the late singer's estate that a movie chronicling her life story would soon begin development with a screenplay by Anthony McCarten, the writer of the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. The film will be produced by Pat Houston, Larry Mestel, and Denis O'Sullivan, alongside Houston's former music producer, Clive Davis, who will be portrayed in the film by Stanley Tucci.
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Shortly after the film's announcement, it was revealed that Naomi Ackie would star as Houston. She's best known for her roles in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Yardie, Netflix’s The End Of The F***ing World, and her current role in Steve McQueen’s TV anthology Small Axe. Following two years of speculation on what the film would cover and how Ackie would portray the music icon, fans have their first look at what to expect from the film.
The trailer, released by Sony Pictures, aptly plays to Houston's 1987 smash hit I Wanna Dance With Somebody and offers glimpses into both the groundbreaking moments that propelled the singer to stardom and the struggles she faced in her personal life. Opening with Ackie as Houston unexpectedly taking to the stage as a stand-in for her mother, the trailer shows Stanley Tucci, as producer Clive Davis recognizing her potential star-power. From there, the trailer oscillates between the monumental performances that garnered Houston a worldwide audience and the intimate moments of the woman behind that voice. Watch the video below:
Showing how much attention to detail the filmmakers put into the project, the trailer features an extended peek into the film's recreation of one of Houston's most iconic moments, her performance of the national anthem at the Superbowl. From the outfit Ackie dons to her facial expressions, the resemblance to Houston's original performance is uncanny. The interspersed clips of the public's reaction, featuring viewers at home getting out of their seats to appreciate her presence, and the Superbowl crowd giving her a standing ovation, suggest that the film will offer a taste of what it would have been like to experience an actual Houston performance.
There's been somewhat of a resurgence of music biopics in recent years, with Respect, Elvis, and The United States Vs. Billie Holiday all having been released since 2021 alone. Some have received fairly mixed reactions. While some critics and moviegoers cherish the chance to see more sides of beloved figures in entertainment, many have expressed their disapproval at the exploitation of these performers' legacies just to have a higher chance of getting a film greenlit. Perhaps both can be true of the genre, and it is up to those behind individual projects to decide how they want to contribute to the memory of cultural leaders, and what their moral responsibilities are when handling deeply personal histories. Whether or not I Wanna Dance With Somebody lives up to Houston's legacy will become clear when the film hits theaters on December 21st.