The upcoming Smurfsmovie has found its Smurfette in Rihanna. The latest film version of Peyo's The Smurfs will be the fourth overall adaptation of the source material in the U.S., after Sony Pictures Animation's The Smurfs, The Smurfs 2, and Smurfs: The Lost Village. While all three movies weren't critically well-received, they were box office hits. Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies' take on The Smurfs was announced in February 2022, hoping to launch a film franchise. However, details on the latest version of The Smurfs have been kept secret, aside from Pam Brady writing the screenplay and Puss in Boots' Chris Miller directing, with Matt Landon co-directing.

At CinemaCon, Paramount and Nickelodeon announced that Rihanna will be voicing Smurfette in the upcoming film. Rihanna was there to reveal she'll also be writing and recording original songs for the movie, alongside producing it.

The New Smurfs Movie Could Be More Faithful Than Previous Adaptations

While Smurfs: The Lost Village was better received than its last two installments, critics have panned previous iterations of The Smurfs as not being faithful to the original source material that made Peyo's comics so memorable.

The Smurfs and The Smurfs 2 saw the titular characters transport themselves to the real world, which made both movies lack the charm and magic of Peyo's works. Smurfs: The Lost Village had a better critical reception because it stayed in the animated world. However, it still followed the same narrative through line as the previous two films, even if the studio billed it as a reboot.

With The Smurfs now at Paramount and Nickelodeon, there's an opportunity to modernize the franchise for the current generation and be far more faithful to the source material than Sony was. Of course, all three Sony films made lots of money, regardless of their negative reviews.

There's no doubt that with a megastar like Rihanna attached the new Smurfs movie will attract audiences of all ages.

With her casting, the movie follows a similar trend that Sony established, with a known pop singer voicing the character after Demi Lovato and Katy Perry took on the role previously. Time will tell how Paramount and Nickelodeon will reinterpret Peyo's iconic characters when the new Smurfs movie releases on February 14, 2025.