Blitz Bazawule to direct ‘The Color Purple’ musical feature

Producers of the musical feature -- Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders, and Quincy Jones-- roped in Bazawule after watching his movie “The Burial Of Kojo” on Netflix. “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.

Ghana-born filmmaker Blitz Bazawule is set to direct Warner Bros. musical film "The Color Purple", based on the Tony-winning Broadway musical of the same name. Producers of the musical feature -- Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders, and Quincy Jones-- roped in Bazawule after watching his movie “The Burial Of Kojo” on Netflix.

“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. Bazawule recently co-directed Beyonce’s Disney Plus visual album feature “Black Is King” with the pop star and Emmanuel Adjei. He helmed the South African shoot of the project.

“The Color Purple” debuted on Broadway in 2005 and ran for 910 performances. The musical was revived for the stage in 2015..