Jennifer Hudson—first of her name, queen of the five-octave vocal range, mother of high notes—will play Aretha Franklin in an upcoming biopic. But surely we already knew this. Who else could dare to touch the hem of Franklin’s legendary garments? With her belting capabilities and her acting prowess—don’t forget, she’s already an Oscar winner—Hudson may actually be the only star well-suited enough to finally get this long-gestating movie off the ground.
E! News reported the casting Monday, explaining that industry legend Clive Davis announced during his annual pre-Grammys party that the film is a go. The casting decision was “anointed by Aretha herself,” Davis added. During the party, the music executive also called Hudson the heir apparent to Franklin. “Her voice is truly incredible,” he said, per E! “When they ask, ‘Where’s the next Aretha? Where will the next Aretha will come from?’ I say, ‘It’s her.’”
Hudson herself confirmed the news on Instagram, writing that she was “humbled” by the casting: “I don’t even know what to say . . . look at God !”
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According to Deadline, the project is on the fast track at MGM and will be produced by Scott Bernstein (Straight Outta Compton) and Harvey Mason Jr., a producer and songwriter who’s worked with Franklin and Michael Jackson. The studio is now on the hunt for a director and a screenwriter, who will plot a story that captures the bulk of Franklin’s decades-long career.
The project has been floating about the ether for years now, with Franklin revealing back in 2011 that Oscar-winner Halle Berry was her first choice to play Franklin in a biopic. Berry declined when asked about it, saying, “I can’t sing! If I could carry a tune, I’d consider it. Someone should tell Aretha that I can’t do her justice.” Franklin responded in withering kind (no, not by fax this time), saying she “never expected” Berry to sing: “It was more about her likeness, and the fact that she has (acting) experience. But I guess she wasn’t confident in her ability to lip-sync.“ In other words: bloop, on to the next.
In 2015, it was reported that Jennifer Hudson was finally in the mix to take on the lead role. Skip ahead two years later, and all is—finally!—as it should be.
