Jennifer Hudson wows as Aretha Franklin in official trailer for upcoming biopic

Publish Date
Thursday, 20 May 2021, 3:56PM

Jennifer Hudson has just blown us away!

Transforming into the legendary Aretha Franklin, the 39-year-old singer showed off her powerhouse vocals in the newly released official trailer for Respect - the biopic about Franklin's life story and career.

In the two-minute 40-second clip, Hudson covers Franklin's signature 1967 hit 'Respect' - and boy does she have some pipes on her.

It's no surprise Franklin handpicked the American Idol star for the role herself.

Respect covers the life of Franklin, from her days singing as a child at her father's church's choir, to becoming the Queen of Soul and civil rights activist.

The film was originally set to be released on August 14 2020, but due to the coronavirus pandemic has been pushed back to August 13 2021.

In addition to Hudson, the highly anticipated film also stars Forest Whitaker as Franklin's father, Marlon Wayans as her first husband Ted White, Mary J. Blige as singer Dinah Washington and Gilbert Glenn Brown as Martin Luther King Jr.

The film comes three years after the iconic singer passed following a battle with cancer. She was 76.

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