Culturally, “The Color Purple” is many different things to many people. To some, it’s the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker, the 1985 adaptation of that novel by Steven Spielberg, and more recently, it’s the 2005 musical with music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray. And it’s this musical that begets the latest cinematic take on “The Color Purple.”
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This unique and bold new take on sisterhood and three women who share one unbreakable bond is directed by Blitz Bazawule (“Black Is King,” “The Burial of Kojo”) and produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders, and Quincy Jones.
This new “The Color Purple” stars Taraji P. Henson (“What Men Want,” “Hidden Figures”), Danielle Brooks (“Peacemaker,” “Orange Is the New Black”), Colman Domingo (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Fear the Walking Dead”), Corey Hawkins (“In the Heights,” “BlacKkKlansman”), H.E.R. (“Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration”), Halle Bailey (“The Little Mermaid,” “Grown-ish”), Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (“King Richard,” “If Beale Street Could Talk”), and Fantasia Barrino (in her major motion picture debut).
Marcus Gardley (“Maid,” “The Chi”) wrote the screenplay based on the novel by Alice Walker and based on the musical stage play, book (of the musical stage play) by Marsha Norman. The executive producers are Alice Walker, Rebecca Walker, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Carla Gardini, Mara Jacobs, Adam Fell, Courtenay Valenti, Sheila Walcott, and Michael Beugg.
Joining director Bazawule behind the camera are director of photography Dan Laustsen (“John Wick: Chapter 4,” “The Shape of Water”), production designer Paul Denham Austerberry (“The Flash,” “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”), and editor Jon Poll (“Bombshell,” “The Greatest Showman”). The choreographer is Fatima Robinson (“Coming 2 America,” “Dreamgirls”), and the costumes are designed by Francine Jamison-Tanchuck (“Emancipation,” “One Night in Miami…”). The music supervisors are Jordan Carroll (“The Greatest Showman,” “Godfather of Harlem”) and Morgan Rhodes (“Space Jam: A New Legacy,” “Selma”); the music is by Kris Bowers (“King Richard,” “Green Book”); and the executive music producers are Nick Baxter (“Babylon,” “CODA”), Stephen Bray (“Respect,” “Juanita”) and Blitz Bazawule.
Warner Bros. Pictures is set to open ”The Color Purple” in theaters in North America on December 25, 2023, and internationally beginning January 18, 2024. Watch the first trailer below.