Rihanna now has a host of blue pals to join her journey as Smurfette in the animated The Smurfs Movie for Paramount Pictures and Paramount Animation.
During the studio’s presentation at CinemaCon on Thursday, Paramount chief Brian Robbins announced that an all-star cast has been set for the film including Nick Offerman, Natasha Lyonne, JP Karliak, Dan Levy, Amy Sedaris, Nick Kroll, James Corden, Octavia Spencer, Hannah Waddingham, Sandra Oh, Alex Winter, Billie Lourd, Xolo Maridueña with Kurt Russell and John Goodman. Or, as Robbins put it, “Pretty much the rest of the Screen Actors Guild.” He also praised Rihanna as “the most legendary Smurfette ever.”
The news comes one year after Rihanna turned up to surprise CinemaCon attendees on the Colosseum stage inside Caesars Palace to announce that she had signed on to tackle the project as a triple threat by providing the voice of Smurfette, producing alongside Ryan Harris, Laurence “Jay” Brown and Tyran “Ty-Ty” Smith, and contributing original music.
Based on the characters of Belgian comics writer and artist Peyo, the movie was described at the time as a comedic, musical adventure “that sets out to answer one of life’s biggest questions: What is a Smurf?” The film, set to be released on Feb. 14, 2025, is being directed by Chris Miller (Puss in Boots) with co-director Matt Landon.
It wasn’t the only news on the animation front announced by Paramount on Wednesday. Paramount Pictures president and CEO Brian Robbins turned up on stage to reveal some slate updates for his company’s animated titles. He welcomed Transformers One stars Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry to the stage to tease an extended trailer (launching wide on April 18).
See below for news on additional titles like Paw Patrol 3, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 2, Smurfs, The Spongebob Movie: Search for Squarepants and Aang: The Last Airbender (working title).
• Paramount, Nickelodeon and Avatar Studios are also teaming on director Lauren Montgomery’s Aang: The Last Airbender (working title) that will be released on Oct. 10, 2025 and has a new cast: Dave Bautista as the villain, Eric Nam, Dionne Quan, Jessica Matten and Román Zaragoza. Producers on the film include Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, Latifa Ouaou and Maryann Garger. “Fans of the beloved Avatar have ben asking and we’ve answered the call,” Robbins said of the film, the first of three animated films in the series.
Montgomery, a veteran storyboard artist who directed on the series Voltron: Legendary Defender, is co-directing with William Mata, a veteran storyboard artist who worked on DC League of Super Pets.
• The studio’s beloved yellow talking sponge that lives underwater is returning to the big-screen in The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants set for release on Dec. 19, 2025. The Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies release, directed by Derek Drymon and based on the series created by Stephen Hillenburg, will have its legacy voice cast diving back in for the newest installment. Back are Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants), Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick), Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy) and Mr. Lawrence (Plankton). Pam Brady and Lisa Stewart and producing. Robbins called it “the biggest Spongebob ever.”
• The third installment in the PAW Patrol franchise has a release date set of July 31, 2026. Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies and Spin Master Entertainment are teaming on the Cal Brunker-directed PAW Patrol 3, which is being produced by Jennifer Dodge, Laura Clunie and Toni Stevens. Brunker directed the previous films, 2021’s PAW Patrol: The Movie and 2023’s PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, both of which were hits earning $144 million worldwide and $202 million worldwide, respectively.
• Also back for another go will be the turtles from the sewers of New York. Jeff Rowe is back on board to direct Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 2, which has locked in a release date of Oct. 9, 2026. The studio, partnered with Nickelodeon Movies, made a splash at last year’s CinemaCon with a turtles-inspired activation with the help of producer Seth Rogen who is producing this new installment with Evan Goldberg, James Weaver and Ramsay McBean. Rowe has co-directors Kyler Spears and Yashar Kassai also on the team.
News
Kim Kardashian credits North West, 10, for taking her sultry vacation pictures in Turks and Caicos
Kim Kardashian revealed her daughter North West, 10, was responsible for snapping her latest travel pictures from their tropical getaway to Turks and Caicos last week. While sharing a slew of envy-inducing…
EXCLUSIVE: Hunky Italian model says he’s been fired from working as greeter at Met Gala after his good looks upstaged Kylie Jenner during last year’s ceremony
An Italian model has revealed he’s been fired from working at this year’s Met Gala because his rugged good looks upstaged stars including Kylie Jenner. Eugenio Casnighi, 26, who…
‘Greedy’ Meghan Markle is ‘being laughed out of Hollywood’ by A-listers: source
Meghan Markle might be one of the most famous women on the planet — but Hollywood power players are purportedly less than impressed with her showbiz prowess….
Rihanna And ASAP Rocky: A Timeline Of Their Relationship
In 2020, it was reported that Rihanna and ASAP (or A$AP) Rocky had turned their friendship up a notch, elevating them to couple status. Following in the…
King Charles and Princess Kate’s Very Different Reactions to Cancer News
The royal family’s current health battles have “forced them to really think about what matters,” with King Charles III and Princess Kate channeling their focuses in two very different directions, Newsweek‘s chief…
A$AP Rocky Beats Rihanna While Trying To Protect His Side Chick From RiRi…
In a recent turn of events, A$AP Rocky finds himself making headlines not for his music but for his unexpected clash with Rihanna. The rapper, known for…
End of content
No more pages to load
Relative Articles
None found