Naomi Ackie Stars as Whitney Houston in the First Trailer for ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’

Sony Pictures just unveiled the first trailer for the long-awaited Whitney Houston biopic, I Wanna Dance with Somebody.

Starring Naomi Ackie as the legendary singer, the trailer offers a look at Houston’s rise to become one of America’s most popular vocalists. Described by Sony as a “no-holds-barred portrait of the complex and multifaceted woman behind The Voice,” the film recounts her story as a New Jersey choir singer who would go on to dominate the charts. 

The trailer also shows a common criticism that Houston faced throughout her career, that her music “isn’t Black enough.” Ackie’s Houston responds, “Look, I don’t know how to sing Black, and I don’t know how to sing white either.” Obviously, there’s plenty to be heard of her iconic hits throughout the preview of the film, which arrives in theaters on December 21. Joining Ackie is Stanley Tucci as Clive Davis, Ashton Sanders as Houston’s husband Bobby Brown, Tamara Tunie as her mother Cissy Houston, Nafessa Williams, and Clarke Peters.

I Wanna Dance with Somebody is directed by Kasi Lemmons, who most recently helmed the Netflix limited series Self Made starring Octavia Spencer. Other projects from her include the southern gothic Eve’s Bayou, and Harriet Tubman biographical drama Harriet. The script for the film comes from Anthony McCarten, who specializes in biopics. His previous credits include The Theory of Everything, Darkest Hour, Bohemian Rhapsody, and The Two Popes.

Ackie leads the project not long after appearing in 2021’s musical heist The Score. I Wanna Dance with Somebody isn’t the only major project she has on the way, as she’s also set to appear in Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut Pussy Island, and Mickey7, the next film from Parasite director-writer Bong Joon-ho.