The Color Purple just added Academy-Award winning musician Jon Batiste to the cast. The Hollywood Reporter revealed the news and fans are hyped for the new adaptation. Joining Batiste in this new endeavor are Taraji P. Henson, Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks, and Colman Domingo. Warner Bros. is packing this one with stars, and for good reason the 1985 movie is a modern classic. Steve Spielberg directed that iteration while Blitz Bazawule will be behind the camera this time. Batiste will be playing Shug Avery’s husband Grady in the movie. That makes a lot of sense as he might be one of the most popular piano players in Hollywood.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Batiste plays in the house band for Stephen Colbert’s late night show. He’s won five Grammy Awards at 2022’s ceremony and brought home an Oscar for his work on Soul‘s score. During his work on the Pixar film, the animation team used video of him performance to model Joe Gardner’s playing style. Soul would not have been the same if it hadn’t been for the musician.
“The film is tackling a few heavy existential questions,” Batiste mused. “Where does our soul come from? What is our purpose in life? And I had a lot of experience as a musician that I could bring to Joe, trying to get his big break. I wanted to find some jazz music that had an ethereal and very universal, accessible form with melodies and harmonies that had that same spirit. So there’s an optimism in them, and it’s also a bit melancholy at the same time, and there’s ways that you can modulate and change the key, and it just hits you [emotionally].”
There was a wild moment on social media this year where Oprah Winfrey actually told Danielle Brooks that she would be playing Sophia in the new adaptation.
“Sofia will always have my heart and I am ready to pass the purple baton on to the incredible @thedanieb who will bring her version to a new generation,” she wrote on Twitter. “See y’all at the movies when The Color Purple: The Musical hits theaters on December 20, 2023!”
Are you excited for a new version of The Color Purple? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
