Black is King's Blitz Bazawule to helm musical film The Color Purple

The Color Purple, a musical film based on a Broadway musical of the same name, which won a Tony award, is set to be helmed by Blitz Bazawule for Warner Bros. The Ghana-born filmmaker is known for his film The Burial Of Kojo on Netflix. He also co-directed Beyonce's Black Is King for Disney+ alongside Emmanuel Adjei.

Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders, and Quincy Jones are attached to produce the upcoming musical and they are said to have brought Bazawule onboard after watching The Burial Of Kojo. “We were all blown away by Blitz’s unique vision as a director and look forward to seeing how he brings the next evolution of this beloved story to life,” Winfrey told Deadline.

Based on Alice Walker‘s novel The Color Purple (1982), a film starring Winfrey was directed by Spielberg in 1985. It was later reimagined as a Broadway musical in 2005. Marcus Gardley is set to pen a script based on this musical for the new project.