Actress Angela Bassett has confirmed rumors she's reuniting with Whitney Houston for a sequel to 1995 film Waiting To Exhale.

The hit romantic movie, about the love lives of four female friends in Phoenix, Arizona, was a big screen adaptation of Terry McMillan's 1992 book of the same name, and Bassett reveals the follow-up, based on the author's 2005 novel Getting to Happy, is in the works.

And the star claims the full original cast, including Loretta Devine and Lela Rochon, are all on board for the upcoming project - which will see Forest Whitaker returning as director.

Speaking on chat show The Talk on Thursday, she says, "It's preliminary but it's going to happen, Waiting to Exhale 2.

"She (McMillan) wrote Getting to Happy and she's written the screenplay... Loretta, Lela, Whitney, Forest. Forest is working on the script now."

Waiting to Exhale was a critical and commercial success when it was released, boasting a global box office haul of $81.45 million. It was also branded a "social phenomenon" by the Los Angeles Times for having an all-African American cast.