Janelle Monáe Boards Uni Musical From Michel Gondry, Pharrell Williams
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10x Grammy nominee Janelle Monáe (Glass Onion) has found her newest film role in Universal Pictures’ coming-of-age musical from director Michel Gondry and producer Pharrell Williams, the studio announced on Thursday.
Details as to her role in the untitled feature project haven’t been disclosed. Set in Virginia Beach in the summer of 1977, the film is inspired by the neighborhood where Williams grew up, and its Atlantis Apartments, in particular.
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Kelvin Harrison Jr. leads an ensemble that also includes The Holdovers Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Halle Bailey, Oscar nominee Brian Tyree Henry, and Grammy winner Missy Elliott.
Written by Martin Hynes and Steven Levenson, the film will be produced by Williams and Mimi Valdés for i am OTHER, as well as Gil Netter for Gil Netter Productions. Universal’s Senior Vice President of Production Development Ryan Jones and Director of Production Development Christine Sun are overseeing the project for the studio.
Most recently seen starring alongside Daniel Craig and many more in Glass Onion, Rian Johnson’s first Netflix follow-up to his acclaimed whodunit Knives Out, Monáe has previously appeared in such big-screen titles as Harriet, Hidden Figures, and Moonlight. She also previously toplined the second season of Prime Video’s Homecoming, starring there opposite Hong Chau, Chris Cooper, Joan Cusack and more. On the music front, she most recently released the album The Age of Pleasure in 2023. Others include Dirty Computer (2018), The Electric Lady (2013), and The ArchAndroid (2010).
The multi-hyphenate artist is repped by WME, Wondaland Management, Ziffren Brittenham, and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.
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