Aretha Franklin Biopic Respect Moves To Summer 2021

The Oscar race has lost one of its potential contenders as another film has shifted its release date. The Aretha Franklin biopic Respect has been shuffled to an August 13, 2021 release date from its original January release date.

It’s the latest scheduling move for the film which stars Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson as the queen of soul. It was first due out in August 2020 and then pushed to October and then Christmas, before landing on an MLK Weekend 2021 wide release.

Deadline noted in their report that Respects distributor, MGM, believes

to be Oscar-caliber and is looking to score a Best Picture nomination with the film, and is hoping to follow in the success of other recent summer-released Best Picture nominees such as BlacKkKlansman, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and The Help.”

Respect is directed by Liesl Tommy and also stars Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Marc Maron and Mary J. Blige.


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David Gonzalez is the founder and chief film critic of Reel Talk Inc. and host of the Reel Chronicles and Chop Talk (80s horror) podcasts. As a Cuban American independent film critic, David writes fair and diverse criticism covering movies of all genres and spotlighting minority voices through Reel Talk. David has covered and reviewed films at Tribeca, TIFF, NYFF, Sundance, SXSW, and several other film festivals. He is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-Approved Critic and a member of the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association (LEJA), New York Film Critics Online, Hollywood Film Critics Association, and the North American Film Critic Association. As an avid film collector and awards watcher, David's finger is always on the industry's pulse. David informs and educates with knowledgeable and exciting content and has become a trusted resource for readers and listeners alike. Email him at david@reeltalkinc.com or follow him on Twitter and Instagram @reeltalkinc.