Marisa Abela is portraying the late ‘Rehab’ artist in a new biopic. The first official trailer was released on February 2.

By: Elisabeth McGowan

Amy Winehouse will always be known as one of the most influential R&B singers in the world. After she died in 2011 at the age of 27, the late U.K. native’s music skyrocketed in popularity, and her legacy in the business lives on. Less than a decade later, her life and career are being remembered in the upcoming biopic, Back to Black, aptly titled after her hit single. 

The official trailer dropped on February 2 and chronicles her rise to fame. Marisa Abelatransforms into the late singer. As she becomes a powerhouse in the music industry, Amy falls in love with Blake Fielder-Civil. Amy tells Blake that she wants to sing, but she also wants to be a wife and a mother. “You’re my heartbeat, you’re my soul, I love you,” she tells him.

Amy declares that she wants to “live” her songs. “I don’t write songs to be famous, I write songs ’cause I’ve got to make somethin’ god outta something’ bad,” she says. Find out everything about Back to Black below, from the release date to the cast and more. 

Who Is Playing Amy Winehouse? 

Marisa Abela was chosen to portray the late “Back to Black” singer. Like Amy, Marisa hails from England. The up-and-coming star only has a few film and television projects on her resume, but her talent clearly shines through the screen. Marisa also starred in the 2023 box office-breaking film Barbie, playing “Teen Talk Barbie.” Additionally, Marisa stars in the British thriller show COBRA and the series Industry. 

The British actress has notably kept quiet about her upcoming role. However, she touched on the subject during an appearance on the “Before the Lights” podcast in January 2023, according to NME. During her interview, Marisa described her process of losing weight for the role.

“I went to an all-girls school in Brighton, and it was brutal … this really toxic environment and it definitely seeped into how I felt about myself,” Marisa said. “I was anticipating [training for the role] being quite difficult in terms of maybe thinking, ‘This is how I should look when I’m at my skinniest.’ … I almost see my body as a true instrument that I’m training for a job. I need to work at it in the same way that I’m practicing guitar. If I was practicing for the last four weeks and I still couldn’t play a song, I’d be scared. It’s separating my feelings around weight loss, which I think for me, in the long run, will be really positive.” 

What Is the ‘Back to Black’ Movie Release Date? 

Back to Black is scheduled to hit theaters on April 12, 2024, in the U.K. The movie will be released on May 17, 2024, in the United States. 

‘Back to Black’ Teaser Trailer Details

The international teaser trailer — which dropped in January 2024 — includes various scenes of Marisa portraying Amy over the years of her career. The first time viewers hear Marisa’s voice is at the beginning of the clip when she quotes Amy: “I don’t write songs to be famous. I write songs ‘cause I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t.” 

Viewers also see Marisa’s Amy in different stages of her life, including in the early period of her singing career. Her famous hairstyle is shown in the trailer in addition to her thick black eye makeup while “Back to Black” plays in the background. “I want to be remembered for just being me,” Marisa is heard saying before the trailer concludes with a shot of her Amy recording “Back to Black.” 

Who Else Is in the Cast?

Apart from Marisa, actor Jack O’Connell is playing the role of Blake Fielder-Civil. Amy’s family members will play pivotal roles in the film. Eddie Marsan is portraying Mitch Winehouse, Juliet Cowan is Janis Winehouse-Collins, and Lesley Manville is Cynthia Winehouse.