Rihanna To Play Smurfette In Upcoming 'The Smurfs' Movie

Pop music icon and "Life Me Up" singer Rihanna has been cast in the upcoming The Smurfs Movie as the voice of the one and only Smurfette.

She revealed her involvement in the film earlier today at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. “I tried to get the Papa Smurf role but It didn’t work out,” she joked to an audience at Caesar’s Palace Hotel and Casino alongside Paramount Animation head Ramsey Naito.

The film is a live-action/animation hybrid and will reportedly explore "themes of identity and ask the central question, 'What is a Smurf?'"

The other roles have yet to be announced. Alongside starring in the film, Rihanna is also a producer and will record original music. She announced her role while obviously pregnant in a denim cape. She's currently in her third trimester with her second child.

While many fans are excited at her return to the animated screen, others are bitter that this will likely delay the release of her eighth studio album even more. Her last album, ANTI, was released in 2016 and fans have been impatiently waiting ever since, especially since the 35-year-old has been promising that it's been "coming soon" for years now. "Anything to avoid music," one fan wrote on Twitter. "New album at 2035," another comment read.

But at least we'll get a new track or two from the film?

Rihanna previously voice-acted in DreamWorks Home. This is also the second time that The Smurfs has been adapted into a film in the last decade. Neil Patrick Harris, Julia Roberts, Hank Azaria, and Joe Manganiello starred in the 2011 franchise with Katy Perry playing Smurfette then. Paramount Animation also announced Seth Rogen's adaption of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and new installments of SpongeBob Squarepants and Paw Patrol.

The Smurfs Movie is currently set to premiere on February 14, 2025.