Respect teaser sees Jennifer Hudson emulate late R&B singer Aretha Franklin; film to release on 9 October, 2020

Jennifer Hudson’s promising first look as Aretha Franklin in Respect is worthy of mention. The MGM biopic, due in the fall of 2020, has recently released a minute-long teaser to give a glimpse of the late singer to her millions of fans. Hudson, silhouetted in a sepiatone, emulates Franklin’s body language to the tee. Just when viewers would sink in with the dark, jazzy mood of the space, till suddenly, the showbiz lights are switched on, and Hudson stands tall in front-lighting. The trance is further broken by the bold letters that spell out “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” behind the actress (much like Elvis Presley’s signage “E-L-V-I-S,” which became iconic in the ’60s and later). Check out the teaser of Respect

Hudson’s portrayal of the Queen of Soul is uncannily accurate. Hudson costars in the drama, that include Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Mary J Blige, Audra McDonald, Heather Headley, Tituss Burgess, and Marc Maron. The biopic, directed by Liesl Tommy, will chart Franklin’s upward rise to fame, from being the star of her father’s church choir, and going through personal turmoils to becoming one of the biggest musicians of the 1960s, without going into her entire subsequent life. The film is scheduled to hit theaters on 9 October, 2020. A title card says an Epic Records soundtrack will be on the way too. Respect will be one of two dramatisations of Franklin’s life that will be shown on screen in the next year.