Entertainment

Rihanna & Adam Driver Will Star In 'Annette'

by Jordana Lipsitz
Christopher Polk/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

RiRi alert! RiRi alert! On March 14, Variety reported that our girl Rihanna will join Adam Driver in Annette, a drama musical from Amazon Studios and directed by cult film creator Leos Carax. The Ocean's 8 actor was previously rumored to be appearing in the film in a small role, but will now take the place of Rooney Mara, who had to back out due to a scheduling conflict. I'm always down for more Rihanna — her cameo as Moon Goddess in Annie was arguably the best part of the movie and she's got an amazing voice — so there's no doubt she'll be a great addition to a drama musical. Adam Driver has also proven his musical chops in Inside Llewyn Davis, his deep voice can definitely keep up, and he's also an amazing actor with a huge list of roles.

According to The Playlist, the musical shares the "tragic" story of a widowed stand-up comic. When his opera singer wife dies, he must take care of their 2-year-old daughter alone, and he soon finds the infant has a surprising gift. It seems Driver will play the comedian, but one has to wonder the role Robyn Rihanna Fenty will take on. No matter what the role, I'm excited to see Rihanna go the musical route. I'm betting the Adam Driver/Rihanna combo in a musical will have audiences like, "La La Land who now?

There's a lot of reasons this film feels so unique. First of all, drama musicals are already a rarity. Luckily, director Leos Carax has a lot of experience working with pop artists for the scores of his films and even had two musical numbers in his last film, Holy Motors. Meanwhile, the art-pop duo Sparks, brothers and Los Angeles natives Ron and Russel Mael, wrote the script and a few of the songs. A pop musical is something even more rare than a drama musical!

Then, there's the news this is Carax's first English-language musical. So with that knowledge, it seems Annette will have a very unique perspective. In fact, there's a lot of different perspectives going on — Rihanna and Adam Driver are both coming from different background — she of the platinum albums and he of the many deeply emotional performances in film and television. It's going to be fascinating to see what these talented artists create together!

Filming is set to begin this spring. Let's hope we get to see some exciting behind-the-scenes photos and videos... I don't know how long I can comfortably wait for an Adam Driver/Rihanna duet!