Netflix has released the first trailer for Chadwick Boseman’s final film, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
Boseman died in August at age 43 after battling colon cancer. In the film, he stars alongside Viola Davis, who plays the title role of Ma Rainey as the drama explores the Blues legend’s experiences navigating the music scene in the 1920s.
“This would be an empty world without blues” Davis says in the trailer. “I try to take that emptiness and fill it up with soul.”
Related Story: Netflix Releases First Photos of Chadwick Boseman in His Final Film
Boseman plays a troubled horn player named Levee, who attempts to make a name for himself in the music world.
“I know what I’m doing,” the actor says as Levee. “You’ve got to get the people’s attention.”
Set in 1927 Chicago, the film shows a single afternoon recording session. It also looks at racial tensions in the music world at the time, as white record executives profited off of Black artists.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is based on August Wilson’s award-winning 1982 play about the “Mother of Blues.”
The film is directed by George C. Wolfe and adapted for the screen by Ruben Santiago-Hudson. Denzel Washington and Todd Black serve as producers, and the score comes from Grammy winner Branford Marsalis.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom premieres Dec. 18 on Netflix.
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