Janelle Monáe has a bold prediction for the highly anticipated film Is God Is.
The multi-hyphenate believes it will be one of the films of the year.
Speaking with WBLS at the New York premiere of Is God Is at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Monáe shared her immense excitement about the film.
“We’re in Brooklyn, baby, yes, New York. Is God Is will blow your mind. It’s my first film this year, and I’m so happy. It’s the first time I’m back on screen this year. Please support this incredible writer and director, that is Aleshea Harris.”
Monáe shared how she was drawn to the project after reading the “powerful” script.
”When I read the script, I’m always like, what’s on the table? It’s honestly one of the best scripts I’ve ever read. I just remember being like, we can like, if it’s shocking how I’m reading it, This is gonna be like one of those ones, and when I got to see what we had shot, it exceeded my expectations,” said Monáe.
“[The film]is honestly a language of its own. You know, like if Shakespeare had his own language in all of his great books, Aleshea has created her own tone, and that’s super hard. Whether you’re a musician or an artist, writer, or director, finding your tone is really hard; it’s tough. And out the gate, she found it,” she continued.
Written by Aleshea Harris, Is God Is is a visceral, high-octane “revenge spaghetti western” that blends Greek tragedy with Afropunkturism and Tarantino-esque stylings. The play follows twin sisters, Racine and Anaia, who journey from the Deep South to California on a mission to kill their father at the request of their mother, “She,” who survived a horrific act of domestic violence years prior.
The film is adapted from Harris’ 2018 play of the same name. It’s also Harris’ directorial debut.
Along with Monáe, the film stars Kara Young, Mallori Johnson, Vivica A. Fox, Erika Alexander, Justin Cross, Justen Ross, Xavier Mills, and Sterling K. Brown.
Ross spoke about how he read the book as a college student and how amazed he is to be in the film several years later.
“When I read it, I was just like, ‘Man, this is dope.’ I was coming from a school in Georgia, and I wasn’t really being exposed to a lot of different Black narratives. So when I got to school, and I was exposed to it, it really opened my mind to what Black stories could be like. But I didn’t think I would be a part of the film version, but I do think I pray a lot, and I manifest a lot. So I’m so grateful.”
Coming from the theater, Cross said the film allowed him to express himself as an artist.
‘Coming from the theater. I think Alicia’s language, as a playwright, is what I was drawn to. And I don’t want to beat the dead horse about representation or how our stories matter,” Cross said. “I think we artists need more room and more freedom to just be. That’s what I’m most proud of about his film.”
Mills spoke about the originality of the film and knew he wanted to be a part of it after reading the script.
“When I saw the story, it was so original, and it’s hard to come across projects like that,” Mills said. “So just reading it, I told my agent, I need that, and I’m gonna get that. I felt the alignment.”
Is God Is hits theaters on May 15, 2026.