Singer and actor Janelle Monáe will be a part of the musical from the Universal Pictures banner.

Monáe will join the star cast comprising Kelvin Harrison Jr., Halle Bailey, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Brian Tyree Henry and Missy Elliott.

The film, inspired by Williams' childhood neighbourhood Atlantis Apartments, is a coming-of-age musical set in 1977 summer in Virginia Beach.

The project, backed by Pharell Williams and Mimi Valdes under i am OTHER banner and Gil Netter through Gil Netter Productions, will be directed by Michel Gondry. On behalf of Universal, the film be overseen by Ryan Jones and Christine Sun.

Monáe is popular for her roles in The Glorias, Moonlight, Harriet and Antebellum. She bagged Screen Actors Guild Award for 2017's Hidden Figures and a National Board of Review Award in the best supporting actress category for Daniel Craig-starr Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.