The Color Purple Movie Spoilers Reveal First Look at the Musical Remake

The trailer for The Color Purple was recently released for the 2023 version of The Color Purple. The trailer for the 1985 movie version naturally came out decades ago. This new movie is going to be a little different, though, since it’s an adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name, which is, in turn, an adaptation of the Alice Walker novel, which served as the source material for all versions, and the film version.

The 1985 film version was directed by Steven Spielberg, a producer on the 2023 musical. It received eleven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actress for Whoopi Goldberg, Best Supporting Actress for Margaret Avery and Oprah Winfrey, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It did not receive a single win, however. In fact, alongside The Turning Point, it holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations without a single win.

“The Color Purple in 1985 was the biggest and most important thing that ever happened to me and continues to be. Now we’re doing a brand new version that could only come because of [Blitz Bazawule,] the most perfect director,” said Winfrey to Entertainment Weekly and who also teased that the 2023 film would have “magical realism, wholesome family goodness, and some of the best actors you’ve ever seen.”

Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and Fantasia Barrino

The new film’s cast includes Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks, Taraji P. Henson, Halle Bailey, H.E.R, Ciara, Aunjanue Ellis, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins , Jon Batiste, David Allen Grier, Deon Cole, Tamela J Mann, Louis Gossett Jr., and Stephen Hill. Some members of the cast previously have a connection to the theatre version. Beyond Barrino and Brooks, who reprise their stage roles for the film, there is also Henson.

Henson was previously approached to be in the theatre version, except she “totally punked out then.” Suddenly, Henson sees the new movie as “the perfect way to do it, one and done.” Barrino, also an American Idol winner, played the role of Celie on stage for about a year. Feeling the weight of that almost made her opt out of doing the movie, though she obviously decided to go ahead with the film. “I was standing beside some amazing actors, who made me step my game up. My life was so much like hers at the time, so stepping into her shoes night after night was heavy… So I had to pull up some things that I had buried, but I felt safe doing it because my director and cast surrounded me, and I was able to go back into that place. I am Celie.”

Barrino continued “You’re gonna laugh; you’re gonna cry, everybody brings it. But in the end, you’ll be healed. Because guess what? I was healed.”

The Color Purple is scheduled to be released on December 25, 2023.