Missy Elliott Joins Cast of Upcoming Musical Film From Pharrell Williams and Michel Gondry

Missy Elliott, Grammy-Award-winning hip hop artist, has joined the new musical film from Pharrell Williams and Michel Gondry, according to Variety.

Henry joins the previously announced Brian Tyree Henry, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Halle Bailey, and recent Oscar-winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph. 

This will mark a rare acting role for Elliott, who primarily works as a musician, winning four Grammy Awards in her career so far. In 2023, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, making her the first female rapper to achieve this honor. In 2021, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Few plot details about the upcoming film have been released, apart from its setting. It is reported to be set in Virginia Beach during the summer of 1977 at an apartment complex inspired by the place where Williams grew up. It will be made by Universal.

Gondry, director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and more recently, Showtime's Kidding, will direct the project from a script by Steven Levenson and Martin Hynes. Levenson has significant musical experience, having penned the script for Dear Evan Hansen and the film version of Tick, Tick... Boom!