Rihanna Cast as Smurfette in Paramount's New Smurf Animated Movie

By Kofi Outlaw

The new Smurfs animated musical movie is in the works at Paramount, and it will star popstar Rihanna as Smurfette, with original music created by Rihanna for the film. The new Smurfs movie ("Untitled Smurfs Animated Film") was announced during Paramount's panel at CinemaCon 2023 and Rihanna actually made an appearance at the event to formally announce her role as Smurfette. Chris Miller (The Lego Movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) is directing, with Spider-Verse editor Matt Landon co-directing.

"On behalf of our studio and our creative partners at LAFIG, we couldn't be more excited to have found our Smurfette in one of the most beloved stars in the world," said Brian Robbins, President and CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon in a joint statement with Ramsey Naito, President of Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation. "With Rihanna's singular creative appeal and musical talents, there is an enormous opportunity to elevate the cultural touchstone of The Smurfs universe in a way that's never been done before."

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(Photo: Paramount)

You can get more details about this new Smurfs movie from Paramount/Nickelodeon Movies' press release below: 

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RIHANNA TO STAR AS SMURFETTE

IN UNTITLED SMURFS ANIMATED FILM

FROM PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND NICKELODEON MOVIES

TO BE RELEASED ON FEBRUARY 14, 2025

Rihanna to Create and Perform Original Music and Serve as Producer on the Film

Rihanna Appeared On Stage During Paramount Pictures CinemaCon Presentation on Thursday, April 27

 (April 27, 2023)  – Today, Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies announced that Rihanna will star as Smurfette in Untitled Smurfs Animated Film. Appearing on stage, Rihanna announced that she will also write and perform original music and serve as a producer for the film.

Based on the characters and works of Peyo, Untitled Smurfs Animated Film is directed by Chris Miller, co-directed by Matt Landon, and produced by Rihanna, Jay Brown, Tyran "Ty-Ty" Smith, and Ryan Harris. Along with starring and producing, Rihanna is also creating and performing original music for the film. Untitled Smurfs Animated Film comes from Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies, in partnership with LAFIG Belgium and IMPS, the company that owns the Smurfs brand. 

The Smurfs got a theatrical movie starring Neil Patrick Harris in 2011, mixing CGI animation and live-action actors. That film earned $563.7 million worldwide on a budget of $110 million, warranting a sequel that was released in 2013 and earned $347.5M on approximately the same production budget. Pop singer Demi Lovato took on the Smurfette role for a 2017 fully-animated film, Smurfs: The Lost Village, which only earned $197.2M on a budget of $60M. With its box office magic seemingly gone, the Smurfs franchise returned to TV in a 2021 reboot based on The Lost Village, which has streamed internationally for two seasons. 

The new Smurfs movie is in development at Paramount Pictures.

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