Black Is King is coming and Queen Bey will not let you forget it. On Wednesday, July 29, Beyoncé dropped the latest trailer for her forthcoming visual album Black Is King, debuting on Friday, July 31 on Disney+, and in it she serves colors, couture, and general queendom. Set to a paired down version of her latest single “Black Parade,” the trailer is actually mostly devoid of Beyoncé, instead featuring clips of a host of impeccably dressed and incredibly attractive Black people. In one particularly striking scene, the Black men are rocking orange suits styled to look like the suit Jay-Z wore in the music video for “Apesh*t” while the Black women are outfitted in pink dresses inspired by the iconic yellow dress that Bey wore while she was smashing the windows of that car in the video for “Hold Up,” all surrounding Bey — standing in the center of the pool, arms up like in Evita. Can you say homage? Other striking images include a cotillion, Bey in a leopard-print dress with arms wide open, and a man smiling in a white suit with a python around his neck. While there were no lions to be seen in this reimagining of The Lion King, there is an adorable shot of a smiling Blue Ivy who (we hope) will be heavily featured in this sure to be iconic film. We’d rather see Blue smile than a CGI lion any day.
Update Thursday, July 30, 10:50 a.m.:
Beyoncé appeared on Good Morning America (prerecorded, of course) to share a few exclusive clips from Black Is King and remind us of her impossible beauty. “It all started in my backyard,” she laughs. “So, from my house to Johannesburg, to Ghana, to London, to Belgium, to the Grand Canyon, it was truly a journey to bring this film to life.” In the clips, some majestic nature scenes are accented with glowing models in detailed costuming. GMA revealed Pharrell Williams is part of the cast, including the previously announced Naomi Campbell, Lupita Nyong’o, and Kelly Rowland. The visual album will stream on July 31 at 3 a.m. ET on Disney+. Get some coffee and get in formation.