Aretha Franklin Biopic Respect, Starring Jennifer Hudson, Changes Release Date to MLK Weekend

Audiences eager to watch Oscar winner and Broadway alum Jennifer Hudson take on the role of music icon Aretha Franklin will have to wait a little longer. Deadline reports that the film Respect, directed by Tony nominee Liesl Tommy, will now arrive in theaters on January 15, 2021 (close to the holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 18). It was originally scheduled for a December release,

Six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald is among a slew of stars who appear in the Aretha Franklin biopic. The cast features Tony winner Heather Headley as famed gospel artist Clara Ward, Hailey Kilgore as Franklin's sister Carolyn, Saycon Sengbloh as her sister Erma, Tituss Burgess as Reverend Dr. James Cleveland, Oscar winner Forest Whitaker as Franklin's father, recording star Mary J. Blige as Dinah Washington and more.

The movie features many of the songs that drove Franklin to stardom, including "Respect," "I Say a Little Prayer," "Think," "(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman" "You've Got a Friend," "Dr. Feelgood," "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man," "Spanish Harlem" and "Young, Gifted and Black." The movie will also include the hits "Ain't No Way," "Precious Lord," "There's a Fountain Filled With Blood," "Amazing Grace" and "Chain of Fools."

Take a look at the trailer below!