Oprah Winfrey unveils star-studded cast of The Color Purple musical

Fantasia Taylor, Colman Domingo, Danielle Brooks, Halle Bailey, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., and Taraji P. Henson are set to appear in the Hollywood adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 book The Color Purple. 

The announcement was made by Oprah Winfrey (producing via Harpo Films) to Vanity Fair recently. 

The book was also made into a Broadway musical and Steven Spielberg had brought it to the screen in 1985 as well, which marked Winfrey's acting debut. Warner Bros had backed the musical and are also backing this adaptation.

Blitz Bazawule, who previously directed Beyonce's Black is King, the film that accompanied the singer's album of the same name, is at the helm. 

"It (The Color Purple) has been a vehicle for magic and purpose in my life. I don’t know anybody who’s ever been associated with it whose life didn’t get enhanced. Everything comes from the original words of Alice Walker, which were grounded in love, really. Love of this community. Love of these people. Love of those characters. And that just gets passed on and passed on and passed on. I can’t wait to see this next evolvement, which is not attached to having done it the way we’ve always done it," Winfrey told Vanity Fair.

The story follows an African-American woman Celie Harris and her struggles of living in the Southern United States in the early 1900s. Taylor will be seen as Celie, Domingo as Mister, Bailey as Nettie, Henson as Shug Avery, Hawkins as Harpo, H.E.R. as Squeak, Brooks as Sophia. 

Marcus Gardley has written the screenplay from Marsha Norman’s book. Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray will score the musical film.

Spielberg will also produce through Amblin Entertainment. Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones, who backed the Broadway musical, are also producers.

Walker, Rebecca Walker, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Carla Gardini, Adam Fell and Mara Jacobs are the executive producers. 

The Color Purple will be released on December 20, 2023.