Just a few weeks after Zendaya Coleman dropped out of the upcoming Aaliyah biopic. The 23-year-old actress Alexandra Shipp who is best known for her role as Kara Tatiana Rush on the Nickelodeon series House of Anubis, will be replacing Zendaya. Shipp has also appeared on “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” “Switched at Birth,” and “Victorious.” She most recently booked the lead role in the upcoming “Drumline” sequel set up at VH1, “Drumline 2: A New Beat.”

Despite the setbacks, Lifetime has decided to move forward with the biopic and has announced Wendy Williams as an executive producer who will be joining Debra Chase:

“Wendy and Wendy Williams Productions are proud to announce that they are joining Debra Martin Chase as executive producers on the Aaliyah Lifetime movie! Production begins later this month with Alexandra Shipp playing Aaliyah.”

The biopic entitled Aaliyah: Princess of R&B is set to begin production later this month and premiere in the fall. The script is based off Christopher Farley’s best-selling biography Aaliyah: More Than a Woman.