Stanley Tucci will star as Arista Records boss Clive Davis in the new Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody.

Davis was the lawyer-turned-record executive and music producer who discovered Houston and made her a superstar. He remained friends with the hitmaker until her tragic death in 2012 at 48.

Tucci joins Star Wars actress Naomi Ackie who stars as Houston in the film written by Anthony McCarten and directed by Kasi Lemons. Ashton Sanders is set to play the singer’s ex-husband Bobby Brown.

Davis himself will produce the biopic along with McCarten’s Muse Of Fire Productions; Houston’s former manager and sister-in-law Pat Houston on behalf of her estate; Larry Mestel on behalf of Primary Wave Music which is a partner of the Houston Estate; Jeff Kalligheri for Compelling Pictures; Matt Jackson of Jackson Pictures and Molly Smith, Trent Luckinbill and Thad Luckinbill for Black Label Media.

The film — named after the icon’s 1987 hit ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ — will drop via Sony and TriStar Pictures on December 23rd, 2022. Producers summed up the plot of the film saying:

I Wanna Dance With Somebody will be a "joyous, emotional and heart-breaking celebration of the life and music of the greatest female R&B pop vocalist of all time, tracking her journey from obscurity to musical superstardom.

“While being very frank about the price that super-stardom exacted, it will be both the rich and complex saga of the search for the perfect marriage between song and singer and audience, and at the same time the moving tale of a simple Jersey girl trying to find her way back home."

Earlier this month, Tucci revealed that he had undergone successful treatment for cancer. Doctors found a tumour on the base of his tongue.

“It was too big to operate, so they had to do high-dose radiation and chemo,” he told Vera. “I’d vowed I’d never do anything like that, because my first wife died of cancer, and to watch her go through those treatments for years was horrible.”

“The kids were great, but it was hard for them. I had a feeding tube for six months. I could barely make it to the twins’ high school graduation,” he added.

Meanwhile, a remake of The Bodyguard which Houston starred in in 1992 is in the works. Her former husband Bobby Brown said that it was a bad idea when asked by TMZ.