Universal Pictures announced today that Pharrell Williams and Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen, The Greatest Showman, Spirited, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile) are writing the original songs for the upcoming movie musical Atlantis. The film is directed by Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Green Hornet) and stars Kelvin Harrison Jr., Halle Bailey, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Brian Tyree Henry, Quinta Brunson, Janelle Monáe, Anderson .Paak, Tim Meadows, Jamilah Rosemond, Jayson Lee, Jaboukie Young-White and Missy Elliott. No plot details have been announced yet for the musical drama, which is inspired by Williams’ childhood at the Virigina Beach Atlantis Apartments during the summer of 1977. Martin Hynes (The Magician’s Elephant) and Steven Levenson (Fosse/Verdon, Tick Tick…Boom!) wrote the screenplay. Williams is also producing the project with Mimi Valdés (Swan Song, Carmen) and Gil Netter (Life of Pi, The Blind Side). Atlantis will be released in theaters on May 9, 2025 by Universal Pictures.
Williams also contributed original songs to Morgan Neville’s Piece by Piece, which will premiere this weekend at the Tribeca Film Festival before opening in theaters in October by Focus Features. Pasek & Paul’s upcoming feature projects include Disney’s Snow White live-action adaptation and Warner Bros. Animation’s Oh, the Places You’ll Go.
