Netflix reportedly nabs film deal starring Rihanna and Lupita Nyong'o

After a picture of the two celebrities went viral on Twitter last month, Netflix is reportedly bringing together Grammy-winning singer Rihanna and Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o to co-star in a new film. Sources told Entertainment Weekly that Selma director Ava DuVernay will helm the project, while Issa Rae, the creator of HBO's Insecure, is in talks to write the screenplay.
Fans clamored for a film uniting Rihanna and Nyong'o after this picture, taken at a fashion show in 2014, took Twitter by storm:
Twitter users conjured storylines and characters based on the snapshot and even suggested directors and writers who could lead the project. Entertainment Weekly reported that a potential film based off the photo sparked a contentious bidding war at the Cannes Film Festival, with Netflix eventually winning out with a "very aggressive bid."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Netflix did not comment to Entertainment Weekly about the rumored project, but both Rihanna and Nyong'o have voiced their support for the idea on Twitter before, as have DuVernay and Rae. Production would reportedly start in 2018, after DuVernay's current project, A Wrinkle in Time, is complete.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Shivani is the editorial assistant at TheWeek.com and has previously written for StreetEasy and Mic.com. A graduate of the physics and journalism departments at NYU, Shivani currently lives in Brooklyn and spends free time cooking, watching TV, and taking too many selfies.
-
Strava vs. Garmin: the row splitting the running community
Under The Radar The legal dispute between the two titans of exercise tech is like ‘Mom and Dad fighting’
-
Bad Bunny: Why MAGA is incensed
Feature The NFL announced Latino artist Bad Bunny as the Super Bowl halftime headliner, sparking MAGA outrage
-
Supreme Court: Judging 20 years of Roberts
Feature Two decades after promising to “call balls and strikes,” Chief Justice John Roberts faces scrutiny for reshaping American democracy
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literature
Speed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91
Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year