The trailer for the long-anticipated Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody, titled after her hit, genre-defining song of the same name, has been released. In her life, Whitney Houston worked tirelessly to use her voice for what she believed was good, to change the hearts of so many, and to represent women triumphantly all over the world with her passion for the stage and music. Her life was also filled with many facets that didn’t emerge until years after her death, and the movie is sure to explore them, but exactly how is so far unclear.

Fans are excited to see Houston’s life portrayed on the big screen. As an enigmatic figure in pop culture who has defined decades of music, film, and performance, this biopic is long overdue. I Wanna Dance With Somebody comes from Sony Pictures and the writer of Bohemian Rhapsody. Naomi Ackie of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will portray Houston, and Kasi Lemmons will direct. Ashton Sanders will co-star as Bobby Brown, Nafessa Williams as Robyn Crawford, Tamara Tunie as Cissy Houston, and Bria Danielle Singleton as Bobbi Kristina Houston. The film will also star Stanley Tucci, Daniel Washington, and Clarke Peters.

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Telling Whitney Houston’s Story in a New Way

Whitney Houston was born in Newark, New Jersey, the first cousin of singer Dionne Warwick, the goddaughter of Darlene Love, and the honorary niece of Aretha Franklin. Her mother, Cissy, taught her how to sing, fostered her continued singing in the church chorus, and even took her to recording studios with her, where she met Franklin. Houston occasionally performed on stage with her mother’s musical group, The Sweet Temptations, in nightclubs.

Houston was also a fan growing up of Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, and Roberta Flack. In many ways, Whitney Houston is the culmination of decades of strong women role models with talent making history in the music industry. Houston was eventually discovered as a prominent fashion model and modeled for various magazines. After this, she initiated introductions with high-profile managers and released her debut music album Whitney Houston in 1985.

Since then, Houston has been a powerful voice for women’s empowerment. It is the soundtrack to so many pivotal achievements in pop culture and real life, from the workout montage in Bridget Jones’ Diary, set to “I’m Every Woman,” to Houston’s iconic national anthem in Superbowl XXV during the contentious Persian Gulf War. Her singing of the anthem is portrayed with Top Gun: Maverick quality in the biopic’s trailer.

According to the trailer for I Wanna Dance With Somebody, the movie will chart her rise from a singer with The Sweet Temptations, to a fashion icon, to an international voice for women. The film doesn’t give away too many specifics and is entirely in a triumphant tone. There’s a lot to speculate about now regarding what exactly the movie will portray from her life. We can tell that it begins with Houston’s first solo singing stint to cover for her mother, who has a sore throat and has to bow out of the show. This footage from the trailer appears to lead to Stanley Tucci, playing the real-life record producer Clive Davis, discovering her talent from the club’s audience that night.

The trailer also briefly shows her marriage to Bobby Brown and will, at some point, feature her daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, who tragically passed away shortly after her mother’s death. It will be exciting to potentially see interpretations of Houston’s sensational film The Bodyguard, which is said to have had a profound impact on the singer and actress and her legacy, even forging a lifelong friendship with co-star Kevin Costner.

Telling Robyn Crawford’s Story

     Sony Pictures

There is a lot that this movie can do to both solidify and clarify Whitney Houston’s legacy. From the trailer, the production team is committed to portraying her unwavering optimism, energy, passion for her work, unparalleled glamour, and private life. The biopic also looks to popularize the relationship between Houston and Robyn Crawford. Crawford has said since Houston’s death that their relationship was more than platonic at a time until Houston signed her first record deal and broke off that level of intimacy within the relationship.

The trailer depicts their relationship’s emotional closeness while promising us that we will see “the Whitney we never knew,” with Robyn Crawford as an important character. Robyn Crawford is an extraordinary producer and was a loyal friend and caretaker to Houston in her life. For decades the two weathered public scrutiny and Houston’s growing volatility and addiction in private. The biopic will potentially be as much about Crawford’s untold story of her years faithfully by Whitney’s side through everything as it will about Houston’s career and brand.

Release Date

Whitney Houston gave women her all and defined an everlastingly influential era of pop culture. We are so excited to celebrate her glorious triumphs throughout her life in theaters on December 21, 2022.