Whitney Houston Opens Up About Aaliyah’s Would-Be Role In ‘Sparkle’

The upcoming Whitney Houston remake Sparkle, detailing the rise and fall of a group loosely based on the Supremes, may have been upstaged by the Beyonce-starring Dreamgirls several years ago, but apparently Whitney’s Sparkle revamp has been in the works since long before the release of the film that won Jennifer Hudson an Oscar. The substance-abusing star recently spoke to Access Hollywood about her original intentions for the movie, which had Aaliyah playing the title role (now filled by Jordin Sparks). Watch the interview below.

“She was our Sparkle,” Houston says of the R&B artist, who was killed at a tragically young age in a plane crash in 2001. “Unfortunately, it just didn’t go that way. I put it down. I said my Sparkle is gone to a better place.”

While we wish Whitney and Jordin nothing but the best, we can’t help but have some trepidation about this project. Not only does it sound a little too much like a warmed-over retread of Dreamgirls, but the last time a pop diva who was huge in the 90’s tried making a film with a title like Sparkle, it didn’t turn out too well.

Better luck to you, Whitney!