The power of sisterhood reigns supreme in new trailer for Blitz Bazawule’s The Color Purple

The power of sisterhood reigns supreme in the latest trailer for The Color Purple.

On Tuesday, Warner Bros. Pictures debuted a new look at the Blitz Bazawule-directed reimagining of the story made iconic in the 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker, the 1985 Warner Bros. Pictures film and the Tony Award-winning stage musical. 

Previously described as a “revival” by producer Oprah Winfrey, the new trailer gives another look at how the film tells the powerful and heartbreaking story of Celie, a young Black woman living in the South from the early to mid-1900s, who finds strength in an extraordinary sisterhood and unbreakable bond.

Fantasia Barrino makes her major motion picture debut by reprising the role of adult Celie, which she first portrayed in her Broadway debut in 2007 and won a Theatre World Award for. Danielle Brooks stars alongside her as Sofia, a role that she played on Broadway during the 2015 revival production, which earned her a Tony Award nomination.

The star-studded cast includes Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery, Colman Domingo as Mister, Phylicia Mpasi as Young Celie, Corey Hawkins as Harpo, H.E.R. as Squeak, Louis Gossett Jr. as Ol’ Mister, David Alan Grier as Reverend Avery, Tamela J. Mann as First Lady, Halle Bailey as Young Nettie, Ciara as Adult Nettie, Deon Cole as Alfonso and Stephen Hill as Buster.

The new trailer embraces the story’s theme of a made family, highlighting the bond between Celie, Shug, Sofia and Squeak, and soundtracked by Henson’s rendition of the showstopper “Push Da Button.” It shows how Celie’s strength grows as the women get closer, drawn together by their hardships and understanding of one another.

When Celie is shown telling Mister, her abusive husband, that she wants to be free from him, the other women cackle in delight at her fortitude.

“I’d die before I let that happen,” Mister declares, to which Celie shoots back, “Good. That’s just the going away present I’ve been needing.”

The new trailer also spotlights the unbreakable sisterhood between Celie and Nettie, emphasizing the former’s determination to reunite with Nettie after she’s driven away by Mister.

“I know my sister’s somewhere in the world,” Celie says via voiceover as viewers see an image of the older Nettie. “Someday, we’re going to meet again.”

Bailey, who made her leading actress debut as Ariel in the live-action The Little Mermaid, recently told ET that being part of The Color Purple was “an amazing moment for me because it’s such a staple film in our community.”

She added: “I remember my grandparents would always have it like playing in the background and I was just really excited to be a part of it. Not only because I’m such a fan of the [people] that are in it, like Fantasia who is vocal genius and Colman Domingo and Danielle Brooks — I mean [there are] just such amazing Black talent in the film that I was just happy to be there to witness.”

The 23-year-old described the set as “a fun family reunion,” gushing about how it was similar to seeing “all your aunties and cousins.”

“It literally felt just like that and I was excited to play young Nettie because I felt I had [that] experience of sisterhood, that bond that I have with my sister, Chlöe,” she added, speaking to the film’s theme of strength in sisterhood. “I felt like I was able to pull from my experiences with her and apply it to the beautiful relationship between Celie and Nettie. And even though Nettie goes away for almost half the film… you feel her love.”

The Color Purple opens in theaters on Dec. 25.

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