Naomi Ackie Will Play Whitney Houston in Biopic I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY

Naomi Ackie will play iconic singer Whitney Houston in the upcoming biopic "I Wanna Dance With Somebody."

Anthony McCarten wrote the script for the movie, which was written with Houston's estate, according to Deadline.

Ackie is best known for her role in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker." On the British stage, she's starred in "Success," "The Day the Waters Came," "The Snow Queen," "Life Mould," "Missing," "Billy the Girl," "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King," "Walking the Tightrope," "Solace of the Road," and "Plunder."

Whitney Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard hits. Her 1985 debut album Whitney Houston became the best-selling debut album by a woman in history. In 2009, Guinness World Records cited her as the most awarded female act of all time. Houston is one of pop music's best-selling music artists of all time, with an estimated 200 million records sold worldwide. She released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification. She passed away in 2012.