The brand new trailer for the Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody starring Naomi Ackie has arrived.
Set to hit theaters on Dec. 23, the latest look at the Kasi Lemmons-directed film showcases some of the obstacles the legendary vocalist faced throughout her storied career. One scene in the trailer shows how she was forced to contend with criticism that her music “isn’t Black enough,” which Ackie’s Houston shoots down as “bull.”
“My whole life, ‘She ain’t Black enough, she ain’t white enough,’” she tells the host. “I sing what I want to sing, be how I want to be.”
The trailer also teases some of its recreations of the biggest moments in Houston’s career, including her 1991 Super Bowl performance of the National Anthem. Sony Pictures unveiled the first look for the biopic, which entered the development stage all the way back in 2020, earlier this year.
The cast is rounded out by Ali Asghar Shah as the singer’s close friend Ali, Stanley Tucci as her record producer Clive Davis, Ashton Sanders as her husband Bobby Brown, Nafessa Williams as her assistant Robyn Crawford, and Tamara Tunie and Clarke Peters as her mother and father.
Ackie is just fresh off her appearance in the 2021 musical heist film The Score, but it’s far from the only major project she has on the way. She’s also set to make an appearance in Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut Pussy Island, and Mickey7, the next film from Parasite director-writer Bong Joon-ho.
Watch the trailer above.
