It all started with a meme. Netflix has acquired the rights to turn a meme about Academy Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o and Grammy Award-winning singer Rihanna as heist buddies into a film.
It was reported that the company beat out several other bidders at the Cannes Film Festival for the project. Moreover, the untitled film will be directed by Ava DuVernay (of “Selma” fame) with a screenplay by Issa Rae (of HBO’s “Insecure” fame).
In case you didn’t know, the original meme was posted by Tumblr user elizabitchtaylor 2 years ago. The post reads, “(In the image above) They look like they’re in a heist movie with Rihanna as the tough-as-nails leader/master thief and Lupita as the genius computer hacker.”
Last month, the photo resurfaced on Twitter with the caption, “Rihanna looks like she scams rich white men and Lupita is the computer smart best friend that helps plan the scams.”
After the tweet went viral, Rihanna, Nyong’o, DuVernay, and Rae responded to the project:
I'm down if you are @rihanna https://t.co/vwHBWeCbFZ
— Lupita Nyong'o (@Lupita_Nyongo) April 21, 2017
I'm in Pit'z https://t.co/Kz0o3lBEmL
— Rihanna (@rihanna) April 23, 2017
https://twitter.com/ava/status/856318715968634881?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Few.com%2Fmovies%2F2017%2F05%2F22%2Frihanna-lupita-nyongo-ava-duvernay-movie%2F
— Issa Rae (@IssaRae) April 23, 2017
A representative for Rae said that the people who helped develop the storyline via social media will be credited in the film in some way. Besides that, production for the film is expected to begin next year, according to Tech Crunch.
What are your thoughts on a movie starring Rihanna and Lupita Nyong’o? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Sources: Coming Soon, Entertainment Weekly, Tech Crunch.
