Recent Grammy Award winner, Jon Batiste, is set to star in the forthcoming musical remake of the 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Alice Walker, The Color Purple. Batiste will join a cast that includes the Oscar-nominated star of King Richard, Aunjanue Ellis, along with Taraji P. Henson, Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks, Corey Hawkins, David Alan Grier, Halle Bailey, and R&B singer H.E.R. Based on the 2005 Tony Award-winning musical and directed by Blitz Bazawule (Black is King), the story of The Color Purple is set in the early 1900s and revolves around Celie, a poor African American woman living in the South who, after years of abuse at the hands of her father and many others, has to find her way to self-love and acceptance. The film will mark the second feature adaptation of the novel after the 1985 version, which was helmed by Steven Spielberg.
Now, Warner Bros. has announced the latest inclusion to the cast of The Color Purple remake in the form of television personality and musician, Jon Batiste. Batiste is said to be playing the role of Grady, a "marijuana-loving womanizer," and husband of jazz and blues singer Shug Avery (Henson). The role of Grady was previously played by Bennet Guillory in Spielberg's film adaptation. The announcement arrives hot on the heels of Batiste's Grammy Award win for Album of the Year for his studio album We Are earlier this month.
Best known for making regular appearances as a musical director and part of the house band in The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Batiste also shared an Academy Award win for Best Original Score with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for the 2020 Pixar film Soul. The Color Purple marks Batiste's second onscreen appearance after Spike Lee's Red Hook Summer. Given his recent success and the fact that the upcoming remake will primarily serve as a musical, Batiste's casting could prove to be a stroke of genius as Warner Bros. looks to capitalize on his ever-growing popularity and talent. Audiences can see Batiste's debut acting role in The Color Purple when it makes its theatrical debut on December 20, 2023.
Source: Rolling Stone