Coming off the heels of his successful Piece by Piece, Pharrell Williams is working on another film. Announced on Thursday (Nov. 21), the multi-hyphenate will be releasing Golden, centered around Virginia Beach in the summer of 1977, in 2025.
“You know how in Dirty Dancing and Grease, the music was almost a character? That's what it's like in this film,” Williams shared with Empire, who revealed that Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Halle Bailey will star in the upcoming project. He continued, “It's a coming-of-age story about self-discovery and pursuing your dreams, but it's so much more magical than that. It's a celebration of Black life, Black culture and most importantly, Black joy.”
Golden will be getting a theatrical release, though details are currently under wraps. It’s also worth noting that Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Brian Tyree Henry, Quinta Brunson, Janelle Monáe, Anderson .Paak and Missy Elliott will also be stepping in front of the camera for the project.
Interestingly, the forthcoming film was originally going to be titled Atlantis, named after the housing development where Williams spent much of his formative years. “It just speaks to the narrative, the area, the energy and literally everything about [the film, which is] this analysis of what being ‘golden’ is,” the “Happy” artist told the outlet regarding the name change. “Children and grown-ups with inner children within them can connect to it and realize that there's a golden aspect to them too, whether it's realized or latent.”
Piece by Piece hit theaters on Oct. 11 with a massive lineup of cameos, albeit everyone appeared as LEGO versions of themselves. Kendrick Lamar, JAY-Z, Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani, Timbaland and Busta Rhymes were among the artists that fans got to see on screen.
To coincide with the quasi-documentary, Williams and LEGO teamed up for an Over the Moon set and their Build the Change Playful Schools Challenge. It’s unclear whether Golden will get a similar treatment, but knowing the Grammy Award winner, there’s likely an original score in the works.