The Color Purple: New trailer brings you a bold new interpretation on the beloved classic

An all-star cast including Taraji P. Henson, Halle Bailey, Danielle Brooks and Corey Hawkins star in a new musical interpretation of the 1982 novel.

Last Updated on October 12, 2023

https://youtu.be/OfGGaBY_-fI

In 1985, Steven Spielberg brought Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Color Purple, to the big screen and racked up Academy Award nominations for himself, for the film’s stars, Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg and Margaret Avery, and the film’s composer, Quincy Jones. Warner Bros. now re-adapts the story based on the musical version from director Blitz Bazawule, a multi-medium artist whose breakout first feature is the highly acclaimed The Burial of Kojo. Check out the trailer above!

The official synopsis from Warner Bros. reads,
“A story of love and resilience, THE COLOR PURPLE is a decades-spanning tale of one woman’s journey to independence. Celie faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately finds extraordinary strength and hope in the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.”

This new incarnation of the classic story features an ensemble cast that includes Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), SAG Award winner and Tony Award nominee Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple, Orange Is the New Black), Tony nominee and Emmy Award winner Colman Domingo (Euphoria, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Tony Award nominee Corey Hawkins (Six Degrees of Separation, In the Heights), Oscar- and Grammy-winning artist H.E.R. (Judas and the Black Messiah), Grammy nominee Halle Bailey (The Little Mermaid), Oscar nominee Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (King Richard, Ray), and Grammy-winning artist Fantasia Barrino in her major motion picture debut. 

The screenplay is by acclaimed playwright Marcus Gardley, who won a WGA Award for Maid.  His script is based on the novel by Alice Walker and based on the musical stage play, book (of the musical stage play) by Marsha Norman, music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray.

The original’s star and director, Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg, produced the musical along with Scott Sanders and music icon Quincy Jones. Executive producers on the movie include Alice Walker, Rebecca Walker, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Carla Gardini, Mara Jacobs, Adam Fell, Courtenay Valenti, Sheila Walcott and Michael Beugg.

The Color Purple is set to premiere later this year on December 25.

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The Color Purple
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Source: Warner Bros.

About the Author

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E.J. is a News Editor at JoBlo, as well as a Video Editor, Writer, and Narrator for some of the movie retrospectives on our JoBlo Originals YouTube channel, including Reel Action, Revisited and some of the Top 10 lists. He is a graduate of the film program at Missouri Western State University with concentrations in performance, writing, editing and directing.