Rihanna — who is pregnant with her and A$AP Rocky’s second child — made a surprise appearance during Paramount Pictures’ CinemaCon presentation in Las Vegas on Thursday, April 27 to reveal she will be playing “a little blue bada–” in the comedic musical adventure, which will be released in February 2025.
“I tried to get the Papa Smurf role but it didn’t work out,” she joked.
Rihanna will also produce the film — which is being directed by Chris Miller and Matt Landon — and is providing original songs. Other producers include Ryan Harris, Laurence “Jay” Brown, and Tyran ‘Ty-Ty’ Smith, while Pam Brady has written a script inspired by the characters and works of Peyo.
Fellow pop star Katy Perry previously voiced Smurfette in 2011’s The Smurfs and the 2013 follow-up The Smurfs 2, while another singer, Demi Lovato, took over the role in 2017’s Smurfs: The Lost Village. The three recent movies were made by Sony, but the upcoming film will be the first in the franchise for Paramount Pictures.
Rihanna previously showed off her voice talents in Home and has acted in the likes of Ocean’s 8 and Battleship, and she previously admitted she’d like to win an Oscar one day. Asked if it’s on her list of goals, she previously told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: “I’d love to get there one day. Who doesn’t want to be told they are doing a great job?
“Any validation that your work is impacting is rewarding. I work hard and put my all into everything I do but the rest isn’t up to me. I don’t think anyone makes an album thinking about winning a Grammy or makes a movie thinking about winning an Oscar. What you do is work as hard as you can and if awards follow, then that’s great.”
