Naomi Ackie To Star As Whitney Houston in Sony Tristar's 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody'

BAFTA winner and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker actress Noami Ackie has claimed the role of Whitney Houston in Sony/Tristar's biopic, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, which will be directed by Stella Meghie. 

The movie, which is being made with the blessing of the Houston estate, is being written by Oscar nominee Anthony McCarten. The project is also being produced by McCarten's Muse of Fire Productions; Pat Houston (the 2018 Kevin Macdonald documentary Whitney) on behalf of the Houston estate; legendary music producer Clive Davis; Larry Mestel on behalf of Primary Wave Music; and Denis O'Sullivan (Bohemian Rhapsody) and Jeff Kalligheri (Submergence), who are financing via Compelling Pictures. Primary Wave Music is a partner of the Whitney Houston estate. The estate has signed off on the screenplay, which grants the film rights to reproduce all of the Houston hits. 

Lifetime's 2014 TV movie Whitney, directed by Angela Bassett, did not have consent from the Houston estate and was not able to reproduce all the hit singles from the multi-award-winning singer.

Ackie won a BAFTA for her role as Bonnie in the Netflix series The End of the F***ing World. She also won a British Independent Film Award in 2017 as Most Promising Newcomer for her performance as Anna in Lady Macbeth. Last year, she played Jannah in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the final installment in the Skywalker Saga, and she recently was seen in Education, Part 4 of Steve McQueen's acclaimed anthology series Small Axe. With upcoming projects like the leading role in heist musical The Score with Will Poulter and Johnny Flynn, Ackie will be busy for a while.