In many Black families and beyond, “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker and the 1985 Steven Spielberg-directed feature film are the classics held dear. “The Color Purple” has also stunned on Broadway, racking up multiple Tony nominations and wins. And now, “Black Is King” director Blitz Bazawule has gifted the world with another version of “The Color Purple” starring Fantasia Barrino in her first feature film (reprising her Broadway role as older Celie), Taraji P. Henson (Shug Avery), Danielle Brooks (Sofia), Corey Hawkins (Harpo), Colman Domingo (Mister), Phylicia Pearl Mpasi (young Celie) Halle Bailey (young Nettie) and Ciara (older Nettie). This massive constellation of stars shines bright in a vivid world of Celie’s imagination coming to life through song. This bold choice set Bazawule’s version apart from the genius that came before it.

In “The Color Purple,” Celie is known to be used, abused, and lived like a shell of a human after being brutally separated from her beloved sister Nettie–the only person she’s ever known to show her love–until she meets Shug Avery. Forced to live a life of taking care of a monster of a husband and his hellish children, Celie longed to be loved and to be free. Bazawule’s version gives Celie’s life color, strife, and grace. There are so many moments in Celie’s bold imagination where women are on top and not allowing any man or anyone to silence them or own them. It’s a glorious experience.

As “The Color Purple’s” producer, Oprah Winfrey, said, “This ain’t your momma’s Color Purple!” This version is an experience of empowerment, redemption, sisterhood, and love no matter what. 

BET.com sat down with the cast and the director to dig into the film and what they learned about sisterhood, and as an ode to Celie, they shared how they found their voice and worth.

BET.com: As the director of something already existing in different iterations, was it a consideration to bring only a little from the previous versions to your version?

Blitz Bazawule: We were making a new version. We had to earn our way. Mimicking wasn't something we were going to do. So only what was essential, absolutely essential, was what was gonna travel with us. Yes, we give a homage here and there. We give a nod here and there. But ultimately, my job was always to tell the cast, make it yours because you can't compete with nostalgia. You don't want to create cheap imitations of what was. You want to give our audience something new. Remember, some people haven't seen that other version. It's a whole new generation, and this will be their Color Purple. They may never go back to watch the old one and it's very important that they walk away with something that is absolutely theirs. Even though we do encourage you to go back and read Alice Walker's book, if the play comes to town as any form of revival, go see it. But it was very, very important to me that the audiences experience something absolutely new.

BET.com: “The Color Purple” is iconic for many, and we get to see this one in a new light. It still has the same themes that Alice Walker has given us, but this woman empowerment thread goes all through it. What has that new look at “The Color Purple” taught you about sisterhood?

Corey Hawkins: I saw it through the eyes of Tasia and Taraji and Danie, just watching them inhabit those roles for the now. Not a staid version of “The Color Purple,” or trying to be something that it was. This wasn’t an adaptation of the musical on Broadway. This came from Blitz’s imagination; he gave Celie an imagination. He gave this woman an imagination to see herself beyond herself. I think the imagination is a passport that takes us and shows us how to deal with our reality; it helps us figure it out. Watching them do that was empowering.

Taraji P. Henson: I'm huge on sisterhood. You see how I operate. It ain’t no act. That's who I am. That's within me. I really believe that women, especially Black women, we're at the bottom of the totem pole. We are the most forgotten, the most disrespected, no one hears us about our pain, no one sees our tears and I'm not going to be that for us. 

I'm never gonna ever compete with a Black woman. I'm never gonna tear her down publicly, if she mean, [laughs] I can talk about her to my girls behind closed doors, but never on the stage. Never. We get enough from the world, so I'm very protective of my sisters. I when I say I’m my sister's keeper, I mean it from the depths of my soul. Because we all we got. 

Phylicia Pearl Mpasi: You can't say Black womanhood without sisterhood. We are innately connected to each other. We've always seen the power of what it looks like when you empower someone else. We really are there for each other, we support each other. We have moved mountains together. And I think that our film does a perfect example of that, you see the relationship between Celie and Shug and [Celie] and Sofia on full display. And it's just a full example of what it looks like when women come together.

BET.com: "The Color Purple" is a Black classic. What newness has been brought to this classic that we hold so dear? And what do you hope people are getting out of this new version?

Blitz Bazawule: It all begins with Alice Walker's brilliant Pulitzer Prize-winning book. That's what she bequeathed all of us: became a Steven Spielberg classic became a Tony Award-winning Broadway play. So when you step to something like that, there's intimidation, of course, but there's also an opportunity, asking ourselves, ‘Where is this generation? How do we see ourselves? And what transcends from Alice Walker's brilliant work?’ And for me, the first and most important thing was this idea of resilience and this idea of forgiveness, radical forgiveness. But ultimately, we landed on giving Celie an imagination because we have to see her go through that resilience and ultimately figure out how she arrives at forgiving others. 

The beauty of seeing into her headspace made her a more active character, understanding how to liberate herself, understanding how to love, who to love, how to love herself; these were all things that she had to figure out. But we could see it vividly because we were in her head this time. And that's what we were contributing to this canon.

Phylicia Pearl Mpasi: What's happening in the film is we're starting at a place of so much joy and so much love. That's what Black women are: we are joy, we are love, we are effervescent, we are inspiring. I think this film will take the narrative of The Color Purple and of Celie as this trauma story and finally put her in the light as the hero where she belongs.

BET.com: One of the things I love about The Color Purple is that we watch Celie discover her voice and worth as a human. Can you think about a time in your life when you've found your voice and your worth?

Corey Hawkins: I'm finding it now, literally working on projects like this as a Black actor in Hollywood; we hear all the stories, but they're very real, about how hard it is, how hard you have to work. How to feel validated, to stand in your worth and what I'm learning is that was for you will not pass you by.

That's how inspiring it's been to have Oprah and Steven[Speilberg] and Blitz and Scott [Sanders] and all of these people truly lifting us as artists and empowering us with the chance to tell the story for this generation. It’s causing a lot of people to have these deep conversations, especially within the Black community, about who we are. 

I always bring up this Nina Simone quote, where she talks about, ‘You got to make them curious enough,’ to get more aware of who they are, and what they are into, and to bring it out. I think that's what The Color Purple is doing, reminding us of that power. And so sitting in that value, I'm in that right now. I'm learning the projects that I want or the people I want to work with. I'm learning the value of my worth and the power of no as well. [laughs]

Phylicia Pearl Mpasi: I come from predominantly white areas and I went to a music theater program where I was told both my voice is too big. I was told I was too Black but not Black enough to play certain roles. As someone who wanted to be an overachiever, I then tried to change everything about myself to fit into the box they're making for me. They even had me compete against my Black sisters in the program. You would see the four of us in a line together and it'd be like, ‘Well, it's going to her because she's the Blackest one out of all of you.’ And it was like, ‘We're all so different. Why are you trying to pit us against each other?’ Getting this role was so special for me because I had to heal all of that.

Danielle Brooks: When I was in The Color Purple on Broadway, I had a voice, but I was very shy in using that voice. I actually relate to you [Taraji] in a lot of ways because that was a time in my life that I was very shy with my vocals. 100%! I was developing impostor syndrome and not understanding why all of these things were coming to me–getting the Tony nomination and all of this. I was like, ‘What is going on? I prayed for this, but I don't think…I shouldn't receive this. I didn't feel worthy of these moments.’ And through playing Sofia, she taught me to learn my power. And now playing her in this form, having a few years under my belt, all of the changes that have happened in my life, being a mother and a wife now, and all of the other valleys I've had to go through, I'm owning that power now. That's what I've learned through this journey, in this moment of playing her.

BET.com: Shug Avery and Sofia interrupted what womanhood looked like at that time. Can you talk about being an interruption yourselves as powerful women?

Taraji P. Henson: I came to this town to be an interruption because I didn't really see a lot of me out here. I was often told I'm not Hollywood-pretty. And I don't know what that means. But I was walking around for some years thinking I was ugly. I don't know how to process that. What does that mean Hollywood-pretty? What I'm hearing is that you're saying I'm ugly and I'm too ghetto. And I'm like, ‘Well, I know where I come from. Those girls need to see themselves.’ So that's why I came out here. Knuckles ready! [laughs]

Danielle Brooks: I'm just trying to break boxes, specifically for Black girls, but also for plus size girls to understand we can be way more than the sassy, funny Black woman who's downtrodden…

Taraji P. Henson: The sidekick!

Danielle Brooks: All of those things! We can be superheroes like I've been in Peacemaker. And I'm starting to spread my wings in other projects. Leading ladies like Mahalia. That's my biggest goal in disrupting this industry, is really letting these people know we have so much more to our box that you are allowing to be seen.

Taraji P. Henson: What I really love about this film is the rainbow of women that you get to see representation of, every shape, size, color, tone, age, all of it. 

Head to the theaters on Christmas to experience the magic of "The Color Purple."