Surprise New Acting Role For Rihanna In Upcoming 'The Smurfs Movie'

Rihanna will play Smurfette in the upcoming Paramount+ animated film, the presently untitled Smurfs movie. The new film has a tentative release date of 14 February 2025.

“I tried to get the Papa Smurf role, but it didn’t work out,” the Umbrella singer reportedly said, per Pitchfork. At a recent CinemaCon panel, she said, “Getting to do animation is a fun journey for me,” via IndieWire, and added, “I’m usually front and centre with everything with my likeness…but this was fun, I got to imagine, I got to show up in my pyjamas in my third trimester, and be a blue badass.”

She also offered, “I hope this gives me a little bit of cool points with my kids one day.”

The Paramount+ animated Smurfs film will follow the 2011 movie starring Neil Patrick Harris, Sofia Vergara, Hank Azaria and Katy Perry as Smurfette; 2013’s The Smurfs 2, and the 2017 film, Smurfs: The Lost Village, featuring Demi Lovato as Smurfette.

As Deadline reports, Chris Miller (Shrek The Third, Puss In Boots) directed the film alongside co-director Matt Landon. Pam Brady is behind the script inspired by the characters and works of Peyo. Producers also include Ryan Harris, Laurence “Jay” Brown and Tyran “Ty-Ty” Smith.

In February, Rihanna was the artist who delivered a wildly short 15 minutes of pure ecstasy at the Super Bowl. She joined a wealth of artists who have been before her, such as Katy Perry, The Weeknd, Shakira, and Jennifer Lopez. It was the first performance by the pop star in seven years. 

Making a grand entrance on a floating disk in the middle of the field, Rihanna jumped straight into her hit Bitch Better Have My Money, and it felt like the music icon had never left. 

Racing through her catalogue of bangers, she performed mashed-up hits of Where Have You Been, Only Girl (In The World), We Found Love, and Rude Boy, before embarking on her collaboration with Drake Work – sans the rapper. Joining her excellent backup dancers, Rihanna jumped into Wild Thoughts and Pour It Up before tackling her Kanye West collaboration All Of The Lights.

Finishing the show with Run This Town, Umbrella and Diamonds, it's safe to say Rihanna gave a dazzling performance that left music lovers wanting more. At the end of her performance, she revealed her pregnancy with her second child.

You can watch the full performance at the link below.