It’s movie premiere time, and starring front and center is none other than Rihanna.
A longtime Smurfs superfan, Rihanna lends her voice to Smurfette in the new animated film — but that’s not all. She also serves as producer and contributes original music, making this a true passion project she’s been pursuing for years.
At the Los Angeles premiere on Sunday, director Chris Miller told The Hollywood Reporter:
“Rihanna wanted to play Smurfette in the Smurfs movie — she was pursuing it and wanting it. Talking to her, it became clear almost immediately like, ‘Oh, you have to be Smurfette. You have to bring your perspective, your own voice, your authenticity to the character.’”
In addition to recording two original songs, Miller revealed that Rihanna helped shape the film’s sonic identity, contributing to “a lot of needledrops, beautiful sonic landscapes.” He added, “It’s kind of a joy because she’s open and she’s funny.”
Rihanna — who brought her sons RZA and Riot to the premiere — also heavily influenced the character development of Smurfette. Writer Pam Brady shared:
“She did an interview where she was like, ‘[Smurfette] is badass, she takes no guff from anybody.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s Smurfette.’ And all of a sudden the way she saw her character locked it in for us.”
The film features a star-studded voice cast including:
- John Goodman
- Nick Offerman
- Hannah Waddingham
- James Corden
- Natasha Lyonne
- Alex Winter
- Nick Kroll
- Sandra Oh
- Amy Sedaris
- Xolo Maridueña
- Billie Lourd
Hannah Waddingham, who’s voiced characters in Lilo & Stitch and The Garfield Movie, praised Rihanna’s casting as “brilliant, inspired for a new generation,” calling her voice “so recognizable” and “a total badass.”
Xolo Maridueña added that Rihanna’s involvement was “a huge part of the excitement,” noting he signed on with his younger siblings in mind:
“The type of stuff I make is definitely not the type of stuff they appreciate, so something like Smurfs makes a lot of sense.”
Smurfs hits theaters on Friday.”
