Cynthia Erivo’s depiction of Harriet Tubman in Kasi Lemmons’ movie “Harriet” has gotten her a lot of praise. According to Gregory Allen Howard, the film’s author, Julia Roberts — yes, that Julia Roberts — was originally considered for the part by a studio official.

Howard remarked in an official promotional Q&A for Harriet, which is out this month, that “the climate in Hollywood… was very different” when the picture was in the development stages 25 years ago.

“I was told how one studio head said in a meeting, ‘This script is fantastic. Let’s get Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman,’” Howard explained. “When someone pointed out that Roberts couldn’t be Harriet, the executive responded, ‘It was so long ago. No one is going to know the difference.’”

Later in the same line, Allen claims that the recent popularity of films with black themes and performers aided the development of Harriet. “Two films really changed the climate in Hollywood to allow Harriet to be made. When 12 Years a Slave became a hit and did a couple hundred million dollars worldwide, I told my agent, “You can’t say this kind of story won’t make money now.” Then Black Panther really blew the doors open,” Howard said.

“When I started on ‘Harriet,’ many people dealing with black material were writing history lessons — which I hated,” he continued. “I saw her story as a genre piece. I remember someone asking, ‘Is Harriet Tubman really supposed to be a superhero?’ That’s exactly what I wanted — to make her story accessible to a mass audience.”

Even in 1994, Roberts’ casting would have been considered grotesque. The most well-known examples of blackface in Hollywood include John Wayne’s Genghis Khan, Mickey Rooney’s Japanese neighbor in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and Laurence Olivier’s Othello.

The screenwriter, who previously wrote the critically acclaimed films Remember the Titans and Ali, also explained why he cast Erivo, an African British actress, in the role of an African American activist.

“I first saw her when the other producers flew me to New York to see her in The Color Purple,” Allen said. “As soon as she opened her mouth, I thought, ‘Yes, that’s Harriet.’ Afterwards I emailed the other producers, ‘That’s Harriet. She’s a little stick of dynamite.’”

Harriet, directed by Kasi Lemmons, stars British actress Cynthia Erivo as Harriet Tubman, an abolitionist and political activist who was born into slavery but escaped and assisted in the rescue of 70 individuals from similar conditions via the Underground Railroad. Janelle Monae, Leslie Odom Jr., Joe Alwyn, Clarke Peters, and Vanessa Bell Calloway also feature in the film.