28 Gorgeous Purple Carpet Photos From The Color Purple Premieres

The musical film version of the acclaimed novel by Alice Walker comes out on Christmas Day and the premieres of The Color Purplealready have us excited about what's to come.

Starring Grammy-winner Fantasia Barrino as Celie and Rustin's Colman Domingo as Mister, the cast of the upcoming movie musical adaptation of Alice Walker's 1982 novel also includes Oscar-nominee Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Ciara, Aunjanue Ellis, Halle Bailey, Jon Batiste, Louis Gossett Jr., and David Alan Grier. It’s an all-star list of actors who are going to bring one of America’s classic stories to life.

One aspect of the story that fans have been hoping will be prominently featured in the new movie is the lesbian love story between Celie and blues singer Shug Avery (Henson), which was present in the book but was relegated to subtext in the 1985 film, which starred Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, and Oprah Winfrey.

“That’s part of the reason I got the job. My pitch led off with, ‘This is a love story between two women’. It was the most important thing to Alice Walker,” screenwriter Marcus Gardley, who is queer, told Queerty. “In the original film, there was not enough of the romantic love between Celie and Shug. I wanted the love story to be prominent and didn’t want to brush over that these two women are in love.”

The Color Purple is out in theaters on December 25. Check out images from the L.A. and London premiers below as well as some images from the film.