BAFTA winner Naomi Ackie will be taking on the role of Whitney Houston in an upcoming biopic about the music legend’s life.

According to Deadline, actress Naomi Ackie has officially landed the role of Whitney Houston in Sony and TriStar’s upcoming biopic, I Wanna Dance With Somebody.

Directed by Stella Meghie, the forthcoming film about the life of the iconic musician is being created with the blessing of Houston’s estate.

In a statement announcing Ackie’s casting, Meghie explained what it was about the BAFTA winner and Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker star that makes her the perfect person to bring Whitney Houston to life on the big screen.

“We spent the better part of the last year in an exhaustive search for an actress who could embody Whitney Houston. Naomi Ackie impressed us at every stage of the process,” said Meghie in a statement. “I was moved by her ability to capture the stage presence of a global icon while bringing humanity to her interior life.”

Related: Madonna to serve as director on biopic about her life

Behind the scenes, the project has tasked Academy Award nominee Anthony McCarten to pen the script. McCarten is especially suited for the job having recently penned the screenplay for the Freddie Mercury biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody.

He’s also penned screenplays for other films focused on historical significant individuals such as The Theory of Everything, Darkest Hour, and The Two Popes.

Producers on the project include Pat Houston, who will produce on behalf of the Whitney Houston Estate and Grammy winner Clive Davis, who discovered Houston in 1983 when the singer was just 19 years old.

Currently, there’s no word on when we might expect to see I Wanna Dance With Somebody debut in theaters.