Jennifer Hudson belts out a soulful segment of Aretha Franklin‘s “Respect” in the first trailer for Respect, the upcoming biopic on the late Queen of Soul.
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In the clip, Hudson, who stars as Aretha Franklin in the film, belts out the singer’s signature hit on a dark, empty stage with the only light emanating from a gold backlight reflecting off her shimmering dress. She then begins singing the soul classic a cappella, with minor atmospheric synth work behind her that merely enhances the echo of the empty stage. Before long, however, in a chill-inducing moment, the stage is illuminated by larger-than-life-letters spelling out “Respect.”
Watch Jennifer Hudson sing “Respect” in the trailer below:
Respect – Official Teaser
[Video: MGM]
The film, directed by Liesl Tommy, is slated to open in 2020 and will star Hudson alongside Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Audra McDonald, Marc Maron, Tituss Burgess, Heather Headley, Skye Dakota Turner and Mary J. Blige.
Aretha Franklin will be well-represented on screens next year. In addition to Respect, National Geographic will cover Aretha Franklin as the subject of the third season of the network’s Genius series, which is expected to premiere next spring. Cynthia Erivo, who played Harriett Tubman in the recent titular biopic, is set to portray Franklin on Genius.
For more information, head to the film’s website.