Harriet (film)

Harriet is an upcoming biographical film directed by Kasi Lemmons, who wrote the screenplay with Gregory Allen Howard. It is based on the life of abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who escaped slavery and led hundreds of enslaved people to freedom on the Underground Railroad. It stars Cynthia Erivo as Tubman, with Leslie Odom Jr., Joe Alwyn, Jennifer Nettles and Janelle Monáe in supporting roles.

It is scheduled to be released on November 1, 2019, by Focus Features.

Cast

 * Cynthia Erivo as Harriet Tubman
 * Leslie Odom Jr. as William Still, an eventual ally of Tubman on the Underground Railroad
 * Jennifer Nettles
 * Joe Alwyn
 * Janelle Monáe as Marie
 * Vanessa Bell Calloway
 * Clarke Peters
 * Henry Hunter Hall as Walter, a tracker
 * Zackary Momoh
 * Deborah Ayorinde
 * Vondie Curtis-Hall
 * Omar Dorsey
 * Tory Kittles
 * Tim Guinee
 * Antonio J. Bell
 * Willie Raysor

Production
In 2015, Viola Davis was set to star in and produce a Harriet Tubman biopic, however it never came to fruition. Development on a new film began in May 2016. In February 2017, Cynthia Erivo was cast as Tubman, with Seith Mann directing from a screenplay by Gregory Allen Howard.

Further development on the film was announced in September 2018, with Focus Features set as the new distributor, Kasi Lemmons attached as director, and Leslie Odom Jr., Joe Alwyn, Jennifer Nettles, and Clarke Peters, among others, were added to the cast. In October, Janelle Monáe was announced among several new castings for the film, with filming due to begin on October 8, 2018 in Virginia, lasting through December.

Release
It is scheduled to be released on November 1, 2019.