The Color Purple movie musical trailer is here, and it’s a bold new take on the beloved classic.
Halle Bailey and Phylicia Pearl Mpasi open up the trailer as young sisters Nettie and Celie, playing together on the beach as we’re taken back down memory lane. They’re joined by an all-star cast in the musical film adaptation of Alice Walker’s 1982 classic novel, standing next to career veterans like Taraji P. Henson, Ciara, Corey Hawkins and many others.
“The reason this moment is so important is because, as long as there is a need for self discovery and self empowerment, as long as there’s a need for people to know what it feels like to be made full and whole through someone else’s love, there will be a need for The Color Purple,” Oprah Winfrey says in a press Q&A on Monday, May 23. “We have our iteration coming out now on December 25 and I believe in the future this story will continue to grow, and it never grows old.”
Set in the early 1900s, The Color Purple tells the coming-of-age story of Celie, a young Black woman living in the rural South. The story follows Celie and the other Black women who surround her as they try to survive and navigate the journey of life despite its horrendous cruelties.
Winfrey, who portrayed Sofia in Steven Spielberg’s classic 1985 film adaptation of the novel, serves as a producer of the new musical adaptation. Directing this remake is Blitz Bazawule. After its film success, in 2005 (and then again in 2015) the film was transformed into a Broadway musical that went on to win several Tony Awards. Now, the tried and true story of Celie’s life is heading back into theaters with a musical twist.
The film is led by Fantasia Barrino (who plays adult Celie), Colman Domingo, and Danielle Brooks; Brooks and Fantasia both previously played leading roles in the Broadway production of familial classic. Four-time Grammy-award winner H.E.R. will be taking on the role of Squeak. With stars like H.E.R. and Halle Bailey entering this film we’re bound to see many young people who might not be all too familiar with the original, experience the heart-wrenching story about family and love.
“The connection of this evergreen idea and reality of this Black woman’s life and the lives around her [is what we’re hoping new, younger viewers gain,]” Bazawule says. “I think what’s special about having Halle and H.E.R. in this film is that, of course, although they and all their families know The Color Purple well, they’re going on this new journey. They all knew the responsibility, but we really encouraged everyone to make it their own. What we’re not going to do is mimic. It was beautiful to see the younger actors build into their own confidence to, you know, say ‘we’re only worth contributing to this canon if we make it ours.’”
Watch the full official trailer for The Color Purple below:
This content was originally published here.
