Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom: Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman star in new trailer

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Netflix's official trailer for MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM is ready because Ma Rainey says it's ready.

I hope you're ready for a trailer with soul. Something that's going to get into your bones and make you want to shut your eyes, raise your hand to the sky, and thank the stars above that music can heal us all in our darkest hours.

Adapted from two-time Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson’s play, MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM celebrates the transformative power of the blues and the artists who refuse to let society’s prejudices dictate their worth. Directed by George C. Wolfe and adapted for the screen by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, the film is produced by Fences Oscar nominees Denzel Washington and Todd Black.

Here's the official synopsis for MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM, per Netflix:

Tensions and temperatures rise over the course of an afternoon recording session in 1920s Chicago as a band of musicians awaits trailblazing performer, the legendary “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey (Academy Award winner Viola Davis). Late to the session, the fearless, fiery Ma engages in a battle of wills with her white manager and producer over control of her music. As the band waits in the studio’s claustrophobic rehearsal room, ambitious trumpeter Levee (Chadwick Boseman) — who has an eye for Ma’s girlfriend and is determined to stake his own claim on the music industry — spurs his fellow musicians into an eruption of stories revealing truths that will forever change the course of their lives.

Co-starring alongside Davis and Boseman are Colman Domingo, Glynn Turman, Michael Potts, Taylour Paide, Dusan Brown, and Joshua Harto. The film also boasts a score composed by Grammy winner Branford Marsalis.

Sadly, MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM will go down in cinematic history as being Chadwick Boseman's final film. The late actor was slated to star in Yasuke for director's Doug Miro and Gregory Widen, which has Boseman starring as Yasuke, the only known Samurai of African origin, who becomes entrenched in a struggle for control of feudal Japan.

While it pains me to think that MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM will be the last time we see Boseman mixing it up onscreen, the film looks to be one heck of a swan song for the dearly departed actor. After all, it's not every day that you get to star alongside Viola Davis in a spirited drama that celebrates the majesty of the 1920s Blues scene. Personally, I can't wait to see Boseman and company shine in this loving tribute music that makes your feel alive, rejuvenated, and untouchable.