Jumping on the biopic bandwagon, Teyana Taylor is gearing up to take on the role of Dionne Warwick in an upcoming, officially “funded” and start date scheduled, yet-to-be titled film.
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Taking to Instagram to share the exciting news, Teyana posted a screenshot of an announcement from Warwick’s son, and the film’s producer Damon Elliott, featuring side by side pics of Teyana and Dionne, and a caption confirming the movie was green lit.
“It’s official… we are funded and we have a shoot date!” Elliott captioned his post. For her caption, Teyana first wrote, “And just like that.. 2020MORE Blessings!🌹🙏🏾❤️,” before going on to praise the icon she’s set to portray.
“Ms. Dionne Warwick… A woman of great statue, poise and elegance, with a fiery spirit — Realizing I was looking at my future self. My reflection without a mirror.”
“Being able to learn and study from one of the greats like, @therealdionnew has allowed me to learn a lot about myself and the woman I am today,” she continued. “She has taught us to be proud of who you are…. —Don’t Make Me Over. ❤️”
Adding, “@therealdionnew Your music and social involvement has enhanced the culture. Your soul and artistry serves as an example of not only resilience and strength, but of faith and purpose. 🌹”
Closing out with a few shout outs, TT wrote, "Thank you for trusting me, @coco_gilbert And our production company @theauntiesinc with telling your iconic story! We are so excited to make you proud!”
Closing out with a final “Shout out to @iamdamonelliott,” noting “it’s GO TIMEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! It’s been a long time coming!!! 💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾”
Teyana taking on the role of Warwick seems to be manifested from Mrs. Dionne herself, during her Twitter-lightenment back in 2020. Expressing her thoughts and opinions about lots of different topics after discovering the platform for the first time, Dionne tweeted at Netflix with a plea to make a movie about her life, asserting, “Please don’t ask who I would cast to play me as it would obviously be Teyana Taylor,” Warwick wrote at the time. Obviously Teyana was all for it.
Three years later, Taylor first announced plans for the movie back in March 2023, telling Tamron Hall that work had begun on getting the biopic ready. “We’re in the building process right now. I’ve always wanted to make sure like, I could lock in with any person that I would be playing, you know?,” Taylor said at the time. “How Angela (as in Bassett) and Tina (as in Turner) was, how Jamie Foxx and Ray Charles, you know what I’m saying? Like, to really get to know them and I miss when movies was like that, when you get to know them and tap in and just bond,” she said at the time.
Teyana also noted that she and Warwick were already talking to each other every day. “That’s my girl. Me, her, and her son,” she said. “I mean, I’ve always been a firm believer in just always standing on safety. She’s had a wonderful career, you know, and I think right now it’s about making her feel as safe as possible so she can tell her story. A lot of these stories get misconstrued or extremely dramatized to an extent and that’s not where we want to go.”