''The Color Purple'' is an upcoming American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...

period drama film A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...

directed by Blitz Bazawule from a screenplay by

Marcus Gardley Marcus Gardley (born 1977/1978) is an American poet, playwright and screenwriter from West Oakland, California. He is an ensemble member playwright at Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago and an assistant professor of Theater and Performance Stud ...

, based on the stage musical of the same name, which in turn is based on the 1982 novel of the same name by

Alice Walker Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was aw ...

. It is the second film adaptation of the novel, following the

1985 film The following is an overview of events in 1985 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable births and deaths. Highest-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1985 released films ...

directed by

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

. Spielberg and

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

return to produce this version, along with the stage musical's producers Scott Sanders and

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

, the latter of whom also starred in the 1985 film as Sofia. The film stars

Fantasia Barrino Fantasia Monique Barrino-Taylor (born June 30, 1984), known professionally by her mononym Fantasia, is an American R&B singer and actress. She rose to fame as the winner of the third season of the reality television series ''American Idol'' in ...

and

Danielle Brooks Danielle Brittany Brooks (born September 17, 1989) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson on the comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019) and Leota Adebayo on the super ...

, both reprising their roles from stage musical productions, alongside

Taraji P. Henson Taraji Penda Henson ( ; born September 11, 1970) is an American actress. She studied acting at Howard University and began her Hollywood career in guest roles on several television shows before making her breakthrough in '' Baby Boy'' (2001). Sh ...

Colman Domingo Colman Jason Domingo (born November 28, 1969) is an American actor, writer, and director widely known for his performance as Mr. Bones in the Broadway musical '' The Scottsboro Boys'' (2011), and for his role as recovering drug addict Ali on HBO ...

Corey Hawkins Corey Antonio Hawkins (born October 22, 1988) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the TV series '' The Walking Dead'' and '' 24: Legacy'', as well as his portrayal of Dr. Dre in the 2015 film '' Straight Outta Compton''. In 2017, ...

H.E.R. Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson (born June 27, 1997), known professionally as H.E.R. (pronounced "her", an acronym for "Having Everything Revealed"), is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actress. She has received several awards includin ...

Halle Bailey Halle Lynn Bailey (born March 27, 2000) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is best known for being one half of the musical duo Chloe x Halle with her sister Chlöe Bailey, together earning five Grammy Award nominations since 2 ...

, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and Phylicia Pearl Mpasi. ''The Color Purple'' is scheduled to be released in the United States on December 25, 2023, by

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of liv ...

Premise

A story of the life-long struggles of an African American woman living in the south during the early 1900s.

Cast

Production

On November 2, 2018, it was announced that a film adaptation of the musical was in development at

and

Amblin Entertainment Amblin Entertainment, Inc., formerly named Amblin Productions and Steven Spielberg Productions, is an American film production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg, and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshal ...

, the same companies that made the 1985 film adaptation of the novel, with

, Scott Sanders, and

all signed on to produce. In August 2020, it was announced that

will pen the screenplay and ''

Black Is King ''Black Is King'' is a 2020 American musical film and visual album directed, written, and executive produced by American singer Beyoncé. It is a visual companion to the 2019 album '' The Lion King: The Gift'', curated by Beyoncé for ''The Lion ...

'''s Blitz Bazawule will direct. Winfrey praised the selection of Bazawule as director, after she and the producers saw his work on ''

The Burial of Kojo ''The Burial of Kojo'' is a 2018 Ghanaian drama film written, composed and directed by Blitz Bazawule. Produced by Bazawule, Ama K. Abebrese and Kwaku Obeng Boateng, it was filmed entirely in Ghana on a micro-budget, with local crew and several ...

'', saying that they "were all blown away by Blitz's unique vision as a director and look forward to seeing how he brings the next evolution of this beloved story to life." It was also announced that

Rebecca Walker Rebecca Walker (born November 17, 1969, as Rebecca Leventhal) is an American writer, feminist, and activist. Walker has been regarded as one of the prominent voices of Third Wave Feminism, and the coiner of the term "third wave", since publish ...

Kristie Macosko Krieger Kristie Macosko Krieger is an American film producer, best known for her work alongside director Steven Spielberg. She worked as his assistant (or "associate") starting with the 1998 documentary film ''The Last Days'', and then on his own films ...

, Carla Gardini, and Mara Jacobs will executive produce the film. In August 2021,

was cast in a lead role. That same month,

was cast in her feature acting debut. In February 2022,

, and

joined the cast, with Barrino and Brooks reprising their roles from productions of the stage musical. In March 2022,

Louis Gossett Jr. Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (born May 27, 1936) is an American actor. Born in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, He had his stage debut at the age of 17, in a school production of '' You Can't Take It with You.'' Shortly after he successfully ...

David Alan Grier David Alan Grier (born June 30, 1956) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work as Bernard on '' Damon'' (1998), as David Bellows on ''Life with Bonnie'' (2002–2004), as Joe Carmichael on ''The Carmichael Show'' (2015� ...

, Tamela J. Mann, Phylicia Mpasi,

Deon Cole Deon Anthony Cole (born January 9, 1972) is an American comedian, actor, and screenwriter. He is best known for his role in the sitcom ''Black-ish'' (2014–2022), which earned him nominations for two NAACP Image Awards and two SAG Awards. On Ju ...

, Stephen Hill, and

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model and entrepreneur. She released her debut studio album, '' Goodies'' in 2004, which spawned four singles: " Goodies" (featuring Petey Pa ...

joined the cast. In April 2022,

Aunjanue Ellis Aunjanue L. Ellis ( born February 21, 1969) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Men of Honor'' (2000), ''The Caveman's Valentine'' (2001), ''Undercover Brother'' (2002), '' Ray'' (2004), '' The Express: The Erni ...

Elizabeth Marvel Elizabeth Marvel (born November 27, 1969) is an American actress. Her most prominent roles include Det. Nancy Parras on ''The District'', Solicitor General of the United States, Solicitor General Heather Dunbar on ''House of Cards (American TV se ...

and

Jon Batiste Jonathan Michael Batiste (born November 11, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and television personality. He has recorded and performed with artists in various genres of music (Stevie Wonder, Prince, Willie Nelson, ...

joined the cast. Filming began in March 2022, with production taking place at Driftwood Beach on

Jekyll Island Jekyll Island is located off the coast of the U.S. state of Georgia, in Glynn County. It is one of the Sea Islands and one of the Golden Isles of Georgia barrier islands. The island is owned by the State of Georgia and run by a self-sustaining, s ...

from March 16 to March 25. Filming officially wrapped in July 2022.

Siedah Garrett Deborah Christine "Siedah" Garrett (born June 24, 1960) is an American singer and songwriter who has written songs and performed backing vocals for many recording artists in the music industry, such as Michael Jackson, the Pointer Sisters, Brand N ...

will be joining

Brenda Russell Brenda Russell (née Gordon; born April 8, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, producer, and keyboardist. Russell has a diverse musical range which encompasses R&B, pop, soul, dance, and jazz. She has received five Grammy nominations. Li ...

and

Stephen Bray Stephen Pate Bray (born December 23, 1956) is an American songwriter, drummer, and record producer. He is best known for his collaborations with Madonna, being a member of the band Breakfast Club, and for winning the 2017 Grammy Award for the ...

(in place of the late

Allee Willis Alta Sherral "Allee" Willis (November 10, 1947 – December 24, 2019) was an American songwriter, multi-media artist, collector, and art director. Willis co-wrote hit songs including "September" and "Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind & Fire. She ...

) in contributing new material to the film's score.

Release

The film will be released on December 25, 2023. It was originally scheduled to be released on December 20, 2023, but later switched release dates with ''

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ''Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom'' is an upcoming American superhero film based on the DC Comics character Aquaman. Produced by DC Studios, the Safran Company, and Atomic Monster Productions, and set for distribution by Warner Bros. Pictures, i ...

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Color Purple (2023 film), The 2023 films 2023 drama films 2020s English-language films 2020s historical drama films 2020s musical drama films 2023 LGBT-related films African-American drama films African-American LGBT-related films Amblin Entertainment films American feminist films American historical drama films American LGBT-related films American musical drama films Films about child abuse Films about dysfunctional families Films about gender Films about racism in the United States Films about rape in the United States Films about remarriage Films based on adaptations Films based on American novels Films based on musicals based on films Films produced by Quincy Jones Films produced by Steven Spielberg Films produced by Oprah Winfrey Films scored by Kris Bowers Films set in Georgia (U.S. state) Films set in the 1900s Films set in the 1910s Films set in the 1920s Films set in the 1930s Films shot in Georgia (U.S. state) Incest in film Lesbian-related films LGBT-related musical drama films Remakes of American films Upcoming films Upcoming English-language films Warner Bros. films 2020s American films