Seeing Purple: First Look At ‘The Color Purple’ Trailer For New Film Adaptation of The Broadway Musical
This Christmas, you’ll be seeing a lot of The Color Purple instead of red and green this year.
The new film adaptation of the Broadway musical The Color Purple, which was based on Alice Walker’s 1982 novel, will be released on December 25th this year. Steven Spielberg is producing along with Oprah Winfrey, reuniting the two after Winfrey appeared in director Spielberg’s 1985 film of the same name. Quincy Jones is also producing the 2023 version; he was in that same role for the 1982 film.
The new movie is not a reboot of the first, but a whole new version of the story, and comes from director Blitz Bazawule, and stars R&B star and former American Idol champ Fantasia Barrino in her feature film debut. Barrino, who appeared on Broadway in the show from 2007 to 2008 and then in the national tour two years later, takes on the role of Celie, with Taraji P. Henson as Shug.
The cast also includes Danielle Brooks as Sofia, reprising her Tony-nominated performance from the 2015 Broadway revival, and the role Winfrey played in 1982. Also in the cast are Halle Bailey (The Little Mermaid) and Louis Gossett Jr., Corey Hawkins, David Alan Grier, Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, H.E.R., Ciara, Jon Batiste and Deon Cole.
A press release for the trailer calls the film a “bold new take on the beloved classic” about “the extraordinary sisterhood of three women who share one unbreakable bond.”
Walker’s book was about Celie, a Black Southern woman in the early 20th century who is abused by her father and husband. Spielberg’s 1985 film starred Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover and Laurence Fishburne, and received 11 Academy Award nominations, including best picture.
In 2004, the story was adapted into a Tony-nominated musical written by playwright Marsha Norman with music and lyrics by Stephen Bray, Brenda Russell and Alee Willis. The critically-acclaimed production received 11 Tony nominations and the acclaimed 2016 revival earned four Tony nominations and scored two wins, including best musical revival and best actress for Cynthia Erivo’s performance as Celie.
Last month, Winfrey told crowds at CinemaCon that “as long there is a need for self-discovery, self-empowerment, as long as there is a need for victory in someone’s life, as long as there is a need for people to know what it feels like to be loved up and to be made full and hold to somebody else’s love, there will be a need for The Color Purple.”