Stage director, Liesel Tommy, has been named to direct the highly anticipated biopic “Respect” in honour of the late queen of soul music Aretha Franklin.
READ: Obituary: Aretha Franklin Survived A Turbulent Childhood And Made The World R-E-S-P-E-C-T Her
According to MGM who made the announcement on Thursday, Tommy will mount the director’s chair for the film which will star Jennifer Hudson a lead actress to play the role of Franklin.
Hudson was cast as the late Queen of Soul in January 2018 after Franklin personally picked her for the role. At the time, Hudson performed a medley of Franklin’s songs at Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy bash.
Also Callie Khouri, who penned 1991’s “Thelma & Louise,” will write the script.
Tommy was nominated for a Tony Award for directing the 2016 Broadway production of “Eclipsed” starring Lupita Nyong’o. She will also direct a film adaption of Trevor Noah’s autobiography.
Aretha Franklin died at the age of 76 in August 2018 from pancreatic cancer.