Today in unexpected casting news, Rihanna was almost set to star in the upcoming musical drama Annette alongside Adam Driver.
The film centres around a stand-up comedian (Driver) who falls in love with a famous opera singer (Marion Cotillard), going on to have a child, Annette, who will be represented by a puppet.
In an interview with USA Today, Annette’s director Leos Carax revealed that Rihanna was supposed to feature directly opposite the puppet during the film.
“It was a small part written specifically for her… she was supposed to play Rihanna. When baby Annette becomes famous, there was a duet between the puppet and Rihanna. But then Rihanna feels upstaged by this baby,” Carex said.
According to a report by Variety back in 2017, Rihanna was noted as being attached to the film, however, a spokeswoman for her dismissed this claim with no reason specified.
Carax continued on to explain that rather than replace the role, he chose t0 cut the scene entirely.
The role wouldn’t have been Rihanna‘s first foray into acting, as she has also had parts in films like This Is the End and Ocean’s 8.
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Annette marks Carax’s English-language debut and has already received rave reviews off the back of its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last month, where he won Best Director.
The film is set to have its Australian premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival, before hitting select theatres across the country.
You can read more about this topic over at the Film & TV and Pop Observer.
Check out the trailer for the film Annette, which almost starred Rihanna:
