Thursday, March 28, 2024

Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks Tapped to Star in ‘The Color Purple’ Movie Musical

Danielle Brooks (top left), Taraji P. Henson (bottom left) and Fantasia (right)

*Fantasia Barrino and Danielle Brooks have been tapped to star in the upcoming Warner Bros. movie musical “The Color Purple” directed by Blitz Bazawule.

As reported by Variety, the forthcoming Warner Bros. movie musical is an adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical from Marsha Norman, Brenda Lee, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, which was based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning epistolary novel by Alice Walker. 

The upcoming film follows the classic 1985 film adaptation from director Steven Spielberg and centers on Celie, a Black Southern woman who struggles to find her identity amid decades of abuse. Whoopi Goldberg played Celie in Spielberg’s film. 

Spielberg’s film was a box office success, grossing $142 million against a budget of $15 million.

READ MORE: Taraji P. Henson to Play Shug Avery in ‘The Color Purple’ Movie Musical

We reported previously that Taraji P. Henson has been tapped to star as Shug Avery in Bazawule’s “The Color Purple.” Fantasia will play Celie and Brooks will co-star as Sofia.

Bazawule will direct the movie musical from a script penned by Marcus Gardley (“The Chi”) and based on Alice Walker’s novel. Bazawule is best known for his work on Beyoncé’s “Black is King,” “The Burial of Kojo” and “Cherish the Day.”

Spielberg, Quincy Jones (who produced Spielberg’s 1985 version) and Oprah Winfrey (who starred in the film and was nominated for an Oscar) signed on as producers for Bazawule’s project in 2018, around the time the project was first announced. 

Henson joins previously announced stars Corey Hawkins (as Harpo) and singer H.E.R. has been cast as Squeak (played by Rae Dawn Chong in Spielberg’s film).

The movie is currently set to be released on December 20, 2023. 

As reported by Urban Hollywood 411, the first musical version of “The Color Purple” appeared on Broadway in 2005. Barrino played Celie from 2007 to 2008 during the original Broadway run. Brooks’ portrayal of Sofia in the Broadway revival, which ran from 2015 to 2017, earned her a Tony nod.

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