If you’re going to make a movie about the life of Aretha Franklin, you better find an actor who can sing. At the risk of underselling it, we’re gonna say that Jennifer Hudson can sing. Like, pretty good. Pretty pretty pretty pretty good.

Before she passed away in the summer of 2018, Franklin actually personally chose Hudson to play her in the biographical movie about her life, which is finally getting made now. Respect tells Franklin’s story, with Hudson both playing the Queen of Soul and providing some incredible vocals. The first teaser has Hudson belting out Franklin’s signature song, which is also the title of the film.

Watch the trailer below:

Here’s the film’s official synopsis:

Following the rise of Aretha Franklin’s career from a child singing in her father’s church’s choir to her international superstardom, RESPECT is the remarkable true story of the music icon’s journey to find her voice.

Starring Jennifer Hudson, Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Audra McDonald, Marc Maron, Tituss Burgess, and Mary J. Blige, and directed by Liesl Tommy, Respect opens in theaters on October 9, 2020.

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