The Whitney Houston biopic, I Wanna Dance with Somebody, is on the way and we finally know who is going to play the lead. Naomi Ackie (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) has been cast in the role of the R&B legend who gave us such hits as “I Will Always Love You” and “I’m Your Baby Tonight”.
In an official statement announcing Ackie’s casting, the director Stella Meghie revealed that she spent the better part of the last year in an exhaustive search for an actress who could embody Whitney Houston, and Ackie has proven as the best possible match.
“Naomi Ackie impressed us at every stage of the process. I was moved by her ability to capture the stage presence of a global icon while bringing humanity to her interior life,” said Meghie.
Anthony McCarten, who wrote the script for the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, is in charge of writing the script. I Wanna Dance with Somebody got the blessing of the Houston estate, and if they sign off on the screenplay, the producers will be able to reproduce all of the singer’s hits.
