Whitney Houston Biopic ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ Gets First Trailer

Starring Naomi Ackie, the first trailer for new Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody has been released.

Movie theaters are getting the Whitney Houston treatment this holiday season. On Thursday (September 15), the first trailer for biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody was released. Directed by Kasi Lemmons (Eve's Bayou, Harriet) and Bohemian Rhapsody screenwriter Anthony McCarten — with Houston's sister Pat Houston and the late singer's mentor Clive Davis co-producing the film — the biopic will offer a “no-holds-barred portrait” into Houston’s “complicated and multi-faceted” career.

Naomi Ackie will star as the late vocalist, while Ashton Sanders will portray Houston's former husband Bobby Brown. Tamara Tunie portrays Houston’s mother, Cissy Houston, while Nafessa Williams and Clarke Peters star as Houston's former lover Robyn Crawford and father John Houston, respectively.

Ackie recently told People that she assumed portraying Houston would be an “impossible thing to achieve," although the actress is a BAFTA winner.

“But many people told me the same thing: If I wasn’t scared and nervous, they’d think something was wrong with me,” Ackie said. “The biggest challenge was letting my fear of the magnitude of this task take a back seat. Nothing good comes from sitting in fear for too long.”

She added, “Fans can expect to see her life like we see are our own. Ups and downs, triumphs and disappointments, all of it mixing together to make up a life.”

I Wanna Dance With Somebody premieres in theaters December 21. Watch the trailer below.