Warner Bros. unveiled the trailer for the big-screen musical adaptation of The Color Purple on Monday (May 22), starring Halle Bailey, H.E.R., Fantasia and more.
“Today, our teacher taught us about a place called Africa,” Bailey says as young Nettie Harris tells her older sister Celie to open the preview. “She say our mamas come from queens over there. That means that we? Royalty.”
As Fantasia’s voice echoes over the clip as a grown-up Celie singing “I’m Here,” the two sisters are cruelly separated by Celie’s much-older husband, leaving Celie without her only support system in life. The trailer then progresses to reveal Danielle Brooks as Sofia and Taraji P. Henson as the fabulous Shug Avery, who introduces Celie to a brighter, more musical life, declaring, “Let’s see this smile in color,” as she applies lipstick to the latter’s face for the very first time.
Produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg and Quincy Jones, the new rendition of The Color Purple will be the first time the Broadway musical is brought to the screen — itself an adaptation of the 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker. Spielberg also directed the original, non-musical version of the story in 1985, which starred Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Winfrey, Laurence Fishburne and more, and was nominated for 11 Academy Awards at the time of its release.
For her part, Fantasia has previously stepped into Celie’s shoes multiple times, both in the 2007 Broadway revival and its subsequent national tour. The big-screen musical will also serve as Bailey’s follow-up to her heralded role as Ariel in the new live-action retelling of The Little Mermaid, which premieres this Friday (May 26).
The Color Purple is scheduled to hit theaters on Christmas Day (Dec. 25). Watch the trailer below.
This story originally appeared on Billboard
