Oprah Winfrey in that surprise in the movie The Color Purple – The Hollywood Reporter

Felicia Pearl Mbasi in “The Color Purple”

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Warning: This story contains spoilers for the 2023 musical remake Violet.

with Violet Being a musical remake of the 1985 film, there are definitely many scenes that harken back to the original. But in one scene, there’s a face that brings everything full circle.

Early in the film, Whoopi Goldberg, nominated for an Academy Award for her role as Celie in the original film, is cast as a midwife who helps young Celie, played by Felicia Pearl Mbasi, give birth to her second child. The role is short but has delighted audiences in previews.

said Oprah Winfrey, who starred alongside Goldberg in the original film and is a producer on the new film Hollywood Reportr in a recent interview that Goldberg was chosen partly due to fan reaction.

“(We) thought it was a great Easter egg for fans who have appreciated the film over the years, and for die-hards,” she said. THR. “We also thought it was a beautiful tribute to Whoopi.”

But while Winfrey, who was also nominated for an Oscar for her role as Sophia, was on set for the film, she declined to appear in the film and decided that Goldberg would be the only member of the original cast to participate in the remake. .

“Actually, I thought about it, it might have been good in the church scene, but I thought it would also be distracting when Sophia got married, if the old original Sophia was just one of the people in the church,” she said, and then she laughed, “They were filming.” “That’s in middle Georgia when the coronavirus was (spreading) like, ‘Okay, well, I’m not going to sit in that church all day anyway.'” “And I also think what’s even more special is that it’s just Whoopi.”

Violet The remake stars Fantasia Barrino as adult Celie, Danielle Brooks as Sofia, Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery, and Colman Domingo as Mr. It was released in theaters on Christmas Day.