Bria Danielle Singleton to Play Bobbi Kristina Brown in Whitney Houston Biopic
Whitney and Bobby Brown's daughter will be portrayed by the "Thunder Force" actress
The upcoming Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody has finally found the perfect actress to bring the role of Bobbi Kristina Brown to life.
TheWrap reports that Bria Danielle Singleton was cast to portray the late singer’s daughter, with Jimmie Fails also on board to play comedy legend Eddie Murphy in the film. The 15-year-old actress is best known for her role in Thunder Force with Octavia Spencer and Melissa McCarthy.
“Fails and Singleton will both play supporting parts, and they join a cast that’s led by Naomi Ackie as Whitney Houston in the musical biopic. The film is being made in coordination with Primary Wave Entertainment, a partner in Houston’s estate,” reads the report.
Harriet director Kasi Lemmons has also signed on for this project, which will highlight Houston’s emotional ups and downs in addition to her meteoric rise in the music industry. No true look into the singer’s past would be complete without exploring Houston’s relationship with Bobbi Kristina, who was born to Houston and husband Bobby Brown in 1993.
Brown’s parents divorced when she was 14, with Houston gaining custody. When Houston unexpectedly passed away in 2012, Bobbi Kristina became the sole beneficiary of her estate. After being found unresponsive in her Atlanta-area home in July 2015, Bobbi Kristina died after spending six months in a coma.
Bobbi Kristina was found with a mix of drugs and alcohol in her body; her autopsy revealed she died of lobar pneumonia due to her face being immersed in water, “complicating mixed drug intoxication,” along with “Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy,” or brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen.
Anthony McCarten of Bohemian Rhapsody fame wrote I Wanna Dance With Somebody; his company, Muse of Fire Productions, is co-producing alongside Pat Houston on behalf of the Houston Estate, Grammy-winning music producer Clive Davis, Larry Mestel on behalf of Primary Wave Music, Denis O’Sullivan and Jeff Kalligheri via Compelling Pictures, Matt Jackson of Jackson Pictures, Molly Smith and Trent and Thad Luckinbill for Black Label Media. Christina Papagjika and Matt Salloway will also be producing for West Madison Entertainment.
The film, distributed by Sony’s TriStar Pictures, is set to be released in theaters Dec. 23, 2022.
The film isn’t the only Whitney Houston-related project currently in the works. Last month Warner Bros. announced a new “reimagining” of the iconic film The Bodyguard. The 1992 film was a smash hit and cultural phenomenon. Starring Houston as a singer being stalked and Kevin Costner as her bodyguard, the film grossed over $400 million worldwide.
The original film marked Houston’s big-screen debut back in 1992. Lawrence Kasdan of Kasdan Pictures, along with Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich of Rideback will produce the new movie. Rideback’s Nick Reynolds will serve as executive producer. No stars have been attached to the film just yet.
Matthew Lopez, the Tony-nominated playwright, has been hired to write the screenplay for the Bodyguard remake. His latest play, The Inheritance, was hailed as “the most important American play of the century” when it debuted on the West End in 2018. The play eventually transferred to Broadway in 2019.
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