Rihanna sent social media into a frenzy on Tuesday night thanks to a surprise announcement from Marvel. The singer/beauty mogul is dropping a new song for the Black Panther sequel, Wakanda Forever, and fans can’t wait for Oct. 28. After a rumor was floated that she would be on the soundtrack, it’s finally happening.
Marvel left a not-so-subtle hint in a short video posted on Twitter and Instagram that featured the movie’s title with a superimposed “R,” which is like Rihanna’s own bat signal. As fans guessed the meaning, the singer hit Marvel’s Instagram post with two emojis: a heart and the X-crossed arms. If that wasn’t confirmation enough, Riri just posted a snippet of the song on social media with a Black Panther-themed graphic. Titled “Life Me Up,” the single is a tribute to Chadwick Boseman and was written Tems, Ludwig Göransson, Rihanna and Ryan Coogler.
Though she’s gearing up to headline the Super Bowl halftime show in 2023 and will launch the Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 4 in November, Rihanna has not released a new album (Anti) since 2016. Her most recent musical release was a feature on PartyNextDoor’s 2020 single, Believe It. With a contribution to the Black Panther soundtrack, could this mean that an R9 album is on the way? Fans hope so.
Wakanda Forever will arrive in theaters on Nov. 11, with Letitia Wright as Shuri, Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda and a new hero Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, played by Dominique Thorne. This Riri is a teenage student and tech whiz who made her comic book debut in 2016. The soundtrack for Wakanda Forever will be available on Nov. 4. With two women named Riri touching down in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, fans can mark their calendars for all three releases.
