The Whitney Houston biopic “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” has found its Bobby Brown. “Moonlight’s” Ashton Sanders is set to join Naomi Ackie of “Star Wars” fame in the film adaption of the late singer’s life. The film is from “Bohemian Rhapsody” writer Anthony McCarten and “Harriet” director Kasi Lemmons and should give a sober and sympathetic perspective on Whitney’s complex relationship with her ex-husband.
Bobby Brown is infamous for his abusive relationship with Whitney Houston. Their marriage was notoriously marred by periods of infidelity, drug abuse, and domestic violence. The two at the time were lampooned in the media and their relationship ridiculed as a joke. Now more than ten years after their divorce and nearing a decade since the singer’s death, this new biopic looks to revisit this chapter of Whitney Houston’s life with more honesty and respect than it was previously given.
The rest of the cast has not been fully announced yet, but it is known that Sanders and Ackie will be joined by Moses Ingram as Robyn Crawford and Lance A Williams as Gerry Griffith. Judging by the real life individuals they have chosen to highlight, it seems the film wants to tell the full story of Whitney Houston’s life, including her purported relationship with Crawford.
“I Wanna Dance With Somebody” is the fourth major biopic of a popular singer to be made by a major studio. The trend seemed to be ignited by the McCarten’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and then carried forward by the likes of “Rocketman” and “Aretha.” With Whiney Houston being one of the most iconic R&B singers of all time, this film should be an obvious addition to this growing trend in Hollywood.
“I Wanna Dance With Somebody” is expected to be released in theaters on Dec 23, 2022.
