Rihanna landed a major role in a Luc Besson science-fiction film: yay or nay?

RIHANNA is in VALERIAN!!!!! ….and she has a big part!! I'm Sooo excited!!!😊

A photo posted by @lucbesson on

Rihanna has had a pretty big week, although none of that includes much music news. Some people think maybe she’s dropping an album next week without advance publicity. Those rumors are also suggesting she’s trying to beat Adele to the punch, which is ridiculous because they’re not really targeting the same audience. Sure, they’re both ultimately pop singers, but Rih is going back to a dancehall feel for much of her new album. More exciting to me than a made-up, territorial, release-date squabble is Rihanna’s new hair color. She went navy blue! It looks awesome, and now I want blue hair too.

More Rihanna news dropped yesterday. Director Luc Besson made this announcement ^^^ on his Instagram. He’s just cast Rih in a major role for the sci-fi movie, Valérian and the City of a Thousand Planets, which is very exciting news. Besson is a visionary and one who has created surrealistic worlds in movies like The Fifth Element, Leon: The Professional, Lucy, and many other pictures. (He was also once married to Milla Jovovich, not that it matters.)

Rihanna’s acting career could receive some serious cred from this role. Besson, who is also a screenwriter, helped create the perfect vehicle to prove Scarlett Johansson’s box-office power in Lucy. His Fifth Element role for Milla was a breakthrough one for her (they married and divorced after the fact). And I think he can create a winner for Rihanna, who has thus far suffered through clunkers like Battleship and one of those Seth Rogen and James Franco stoner movies. This Besson film is going to be awesome and very watchable. For what it’s worth, Cara Delevingne has also scored a role. At the very least, there will be some fine fashion moments on the red carpet.

Rihanna

Rihanna

Photos courtesy of Luc Besson on Instagram & WENN

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56 Responses to “Rihanna landed a major role in a Luc Besson science-fiction film: yay or nay?”

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  1. Chelly says:

    Nay but, kinda dont care about her

    • Herewego says:

      I feel she’s every day or most times when we see her anyway. I get the feeling her whole persona is a bit of an act , so yes I can see her crossing into film.

      I really think she’d make a great Bond girl.

      I love me some Jennifer Hudson and enjoy her in the roles she gets but IMO Jennifer Hudson can’t act, but I like her and she has an Oscàr, 🙂
      I liked Whitney Houston in her roles too.

  2. Kate says:

    Yay!

  3. Mimi says:

    Actually this film has flop written all over it and I can’t wait for that! Maybe then they won’t cast Cara Delenepotism in anything anymore

    • Marrrrria says:

      Absolutely. I like Rihanna but I don’t see her as an actress. I think it has to do with her persona as a whole and I find it hard to imagine her in a movie while not being Rihanna.
      Cara is overrated. Talented? Maybe. But not as talented to get these roles. A classic case of favouritism. What’s wrong with actual actresses? I feel like this is Madonna all over again.
      I’m not in the least excited for this movie.

  4. CCinkissimmee says:

    Nay! But no hate tho.

  5. GoodNamesAllTaken says:

    Love the navy hair. Not informed about sci-fi or her acting abilities.

    • Tiffany says:

      Me too GNAT. I saw the photo and am not thinking I might consider it.

      If it works, great. If not, eh, it only for a few weeks.

  6. Katie says:

    Nay. Nay. Nay.

  7. Danielle says:

    I worry about singers trying to be actors and vice versa. Few can succeed and it can harm the original career.

  8. True says:

    She’s an original and I bet she’ll do great.

  9. Elisa the I. says:

    She has the most beautiful eyes ever.
    And: just say no to nose rings.

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      Yes! And yeeeeesssss! What do you do when you have to blow your nose? Gross.

    • AlmondJoy says:

      Elisa, it’s just a faux septum ring. And I think nose rings can be very beautiful. Not sure why people are all of a sudden so closed minded about them when women of all different cultures have been rocking them for years.

      • Elisa the I. says:

        IMO Rihanna is incredibly stunning and beautiful. But that ring just does nothing for me. Do you really think it looks good on her?
        I’m not even wearing earrings, so I might be biased. 🙂

      • AlmondJoy says:

        I get the look she was going for and and I’m probably biased as well because I think she looks good in EVERYTHING lol.. I’ve never seen her not look good.

      • bns says:

        Tell it. I’ve been thinking about piercing my septum. They’re beautiful imo

  10. Nancy says:

    Model, singer, bad ass chick all in one. Actress? Ah nah nah, what’s my name….what’s my name…but I love her so…..

  11. Allie says:

    I absolutely love her and I was excited until I read that Cara received a part. I can’t even begin to explain my hatred for Cara and I have no idea why I care so much about a person I’ll never meet. But I do, so now I hope this movie flops.

    • Mimi says:

      It’s the nepotism that bothers you, me too. Plus, why IS Cara Delewhatever?? She’s been in a couple if films and was completely meh. And she wasn’t more than 15 mins in Papertowns

  12. Oprah says:

    Nay. She was terrible in her Razzie winning turn in Battleship.

    • The Eternal Side-Eye says:

      I was just thinking her track record with actually being able to act seems quite poor.

  13. vauvert says:

    I love Luc but why is he casting two non-actresses? Is he aiming for a flop or is he really so sure of his movie? People generally like Rihanna but a thespian she is not and I would actively not watch anything with Cara in it just like I avoid buying anything she promotes. That insipid woman ruined Burberry for me. I love sci-fi with all my geeky heart but unless he casts a really talented guy(s) opposite these ladies, I will skip it.

    • mia girl says:

      “RIHANNA is in VALERIAN!!!!! ….and she has a big part!! I’m Sooo excited!!!😊 ”

      I struck me funny that a 56 year old critically acclaimed director of dramas and sci-fi movies would have a Twitter post with emojis and extra vowels/exclamation points. So I went to his Twitter feed to see if this is how he often expresses himself. Turns out yes, he does.

      Anyway, to your question @vauvert – maybe you will feel better to know that on his Twitter feed I learned that he did cast two actual actors, Clive Owen and Dane Dehaan.

  14. Fluff says:

    Uh, stop casting non-actors just because they’re famous.

  15. LAK says:

    He also wrote and directed NIKITA, and the completely underrated, but awesome THE FAMILY.

  16. tracking says:

    She has so much charisma, I’d be interested in seeing how she does.

  17. Miss V says:

    Nope, as talented as she is… And actress she is not. Just watch that Dior extended commercial she did. It’s not good, to say the least.

  18. SamiHami says:

    Nay. Terrible idea. She’s got absolutely no charisma at all (imho). Maybe if the role was for a smug, self important stoner. but that’s about it.

  19. Laura says:

    I can only imagine her doing well if it’s not a speaking role. She’s not really a good actress. At all.

  20. Holmes says:

    If it was 1997, perhaps, but Luc Besson hasn’t made a decent film in almost 20 years. I watched Lucy on a transatlantic flight a while ago, and if I wouldn’t have been stuck in the air for 7 hours anyway, I would have been angry at the 90 minutes of my life that I would never get back. It was quite literally the dumbest movie I’ve ever seen in my life.

    • Laura says:

      It started off so promising, but then it deteriorated really quickly. It ended up being almost comically dumb.

    • Em' says:

      This !
      To this day, I am still mad that I lost 90 mn of my life sitting through this pathetic movie.
      And because Besson takes himself so seriously it wasn’t even comically bad. It was maddening bad.
      Léon will forever be one of my favourite movie of all time but Besson stopped being a good director (or producer) after The 5th element.

  21. Newgirl says:

    There are people going to acting school for opportunities like this. Give them a chance.

  22. Viv says:

    Don’t care for Cara, love Rihanna. Can she act though?

    • KellyBee says:

      No she can’t, so you take Cara who can’t act + Rihanna who can’t act put them in the same movie and you got one huge failure.

    • Laur says:

      She would have already been a big movie star if she could act. She’s beautiful and popular enough, but she just doesn’t have that talent.

  23. bns says:

    Anything to keep the album from coming out, right Rih?

  24. AlmondJoy says:

    I hope she does well in her new role! In the meantime, I’m absolutely loving her as an advisor on The Voice. She gives great advice and she has the IT factor. I was never a huge fan of hers but I do get why she’s such a huge star and she’s really growing on me.

  25. My two cents says:

    Rihanna seems to be into everything but that latest album. Wondering if she’s rebelling for a specific reason or just burned out? She has been seen out partying with Travis Scott quite a lot. I thought maybe she was tired of working so hard, but obviously that’s not it. Her acting in her music videos is decent so who knows…she may be quite good.

  26. NeoCleo says:

    I’m not a huge fan of her music but she’s wonderful to look at. Maybe she does have talent as an actor. Her appearing in a film would not stop me from seeing it, that’s for sure, and I’m willing to keep an open mind.

  27. Ruyana says:

    Everybody’s always snarking on her acting in Battleship, but I thought she did a great job. It was a physical role with running, fighting, jumping off a ship and she handled it all. She trained with the guns on the destroyer and the battleship and everything she did looked authentic. I’m glad she’s getting another shot.

  28. A.Key says:

    Luc Besson hasn’t made a decent film since the 90s, no it doesn’t matter who he casts these days…

  29. Pondering thoughts says:

    If you watch Riri’s scenes in “Battleship” then you can guess she is many thing but not a great actress. She played some soldier but boy, she played her so un-serious it really annoyed me. Soldiers are trained to be absolutely serious on the job and Riri just didn’t portray that.
    In one scene her character shared a joke with somebody next to her and her character got told off by her superior. So Riri was supposed to play a soldier who was reminded of her duties. She was so unconvincing … In another scene she was standing in a group of soldiers and there was the captain somewhere. Nope, Riri played as if she stood among a group of friends and not among soldiers on duty.
    So no, I don’t have high expectations of Riri the actress. To me she seems like somebody who thinks that acting is just like collection gold laying around somewhere and that her celebrity status will be enough. We will see.
    Riri in battleship: mini scenes
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8btrjpZgWk

    Btw. “Battleship” is a decent movie. Not the best but certainly enjoyable if you like military + alien invasion movies.

  30. Shasta says:

    I know it’s not very PC to say, but this woman is seriously beautiful. No idea about her acting ability though. I have a feeling the film with flop, like her other acting ventures.

  31. Herewego says:

    I had a acting teacher who did a lot of on set training, working with new actors , celebrities. He once said, why do people get upset when a model or singer gets her first role and she can’t act, he said of course the person can’t and it’s not a big deal, he felt if they are just given time and slowly build themselves and train, they will be able to act.

    IMO Jennifer Hudson can’t act but I love me some Jennifer Hudson and like her in a role.
    I liked Whitney Houston in her roles.

    • Adding sums says:

      @ herewego

      Yep, practice makes you perfect.
      But it seems that a lot of models or singers don’t do any practice but simply turn up to make a movie which then flops. There are lots of opportunities to get practice in acting and rich people like Riri can afford private lessons. So it is entirely justified to criticise these famous creatures who don’t get an acting job for their acting skills but merely because they have pretty legs and boobs (models) or because they repeat one or two sentences with a singing voice (Riri).

      Singers like Riri don’t get acting jobs because they are good at acting. So Riri’s chance for acting isn’t merit-based but tabloid-based nepotism. Now there is nothing wrong with criticising that kind of thing.

  32. Div says:

    I love Rihanna but this seems like a bad idea. Two actresses with limited experience headlining an odd sci fi film sounds…all not good

  33. Amal's Wardrobe says:

    Luc Besson is a terrible director. And he wrote Leon as a pedo film (Natalie’s character was supposed to initiate and enjoy sex with Leon; that was cut out). But I liked Rihanna in that alien battle film she was in. She’s drop dead gorgeous on film.

  34. Veronica says:

    I think this might work well for her as a fun side project, though I’m not sure of the film as a career launcher. Luc Besson’s movies tend to be hit or miss with mass market. I generally like his work, but it’s not always universal, and it’s generally more interesting for the conceptual aspects rather than the execution.