Rihanna Reportedly Records 2 New Songs for Major Movie

By Daniel S. Levine

Rihanna's upcoming Super Bowl halftime show performance will just be the start of her return to the music scene. She is rumored to have recorded two songs for Marvel Studios' upcoming blockbuster Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which opens on Nov. 11. The first Black Panther film also featured a star-studded soundtrack, headlined by Kendrick Lamar's Oscar-nominated song "All the Stars."

Rumors that Rihanna is involved in the Wakanda Forever soundtrack surfaced on Hits Daily Double. The New York Times reporter Kyle Buchanan also tweeted that he has been "hearing for weeks" that Rihanna was recording the end credits song for the new movie. Marvel and Disney have not commented on the rumors.

When Black Panther hit theaters in 2018, Interscope Records released Black Panther: The Album, which featured new music from Lamar, SZA, Vince Staples, Jorja Smith, Anderson .Paak, Future, The Weeknd, and more. Ludwig Göransson's Oscar-winning score was released as a separate album titled Black Panther (Original Score). The album overseen by Lamar was a huge critical and financial success, winning Grammys for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media and Best Rap Performance for "King's Dead." The album was also nominated for Album of the Year, while "All the Stars" was up for Song and Record of the Year.

This is not the first time Rihanna was linked to Wakanda Forever. Back in late 2020, there were rumors that Rihanna would have an acting role in the film. However, sources told E! News in November 2020 that this is not the case. If she was going to appear in the film, it would have been her first movie since Ocean's 8.

The Black Panther soundtrack rumors come weeks after the NFL and Roc Nation confirmed Rihanna will be the Super Bowl LVII halftime show act on Feb. 12. The performance could help Rihanna launch her first new album since ANTI was released in 2016. This will also be the first halftime show with Apple Music as the sponsor, replacing Pepsi.

"Rihanna is an incredible recording artist who is a favorite for many millions of Apple Music customers around the world," Oliver Schusser, Apple's vice president of Apple Music and Beats, said in a statement last month. "We're excited to partner with Rihanna, Roc Nation, and the NFL to bring music and sports fans a momentous show – what an incredible artist for the inaugural Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show."

Wakanda Forever was directed by Ryan Coogler, who wrote the script with Joe Robert Cole. After Chadwick Boseman died from colon cancer in August 2020, Marvel chose not to recast his role as T'Challa. The new movie stars Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Dominique Thorne, Florence Kasumba, Michaela Cole, Martin Freeman, Angela Bassett, and Tenoch Huerta. 

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