Rihanna, Rooney Mara Drop Out Of ‘Annette’ Film Despite Amazon Pick-Up

Rihanna and Rooney Mara will not be starring in Leos Carax’s music-filled drama, Annette, despite Amazon Studios having recently acquired the U.S. and Canadian distribution rights to the film, new reports confirm.

Earlier this week, Variety reported that Rihanna and Mara, who starred in Academy Award-nominated films such as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Carol, would star in Carax’s film alongside Adam Driver, however, it appears that neither Rihanna nor Rooney will appear in the drama, which is set to begin filming this spring.

According to a spokeswoman for the “Love on the Brain” singer, Rihanna is not included as a cast member for Leos Carax’s English-language debut film despite producers for the project having pitched Rihanna as a part of the film’s cast to buyers at the Berlin Film Festival just last month, Billboard reports.

Meanwhile, Rooney Mara was reportedly set to appear in Annette, which was written and features songs by art-rock band Sparks. However, the actress was forced to drop out of the project due to other commitments. Producers for Annette will continue to search for another female lead to star alongside Adam Driver in the music-filled drama.

While Rihanna may not be starring in Annette, the “We Found Love” singer has several other film and television-related projects on her plate as of late, including a starring role in the fifth and final season of A&E’s Bates Motel, Luc Besson’s science fiction flick Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, and the upcoming all-female version of Ocean’s Eight alongside actresses Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway, and Sarah Paulson.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rihanna’s portrayal of the iconic Marion Crane in the final season of Bates Motel came about after the songstress gushed over her love for the show during an interview with Vanity Fair, prompting the show’s co-creators, Kerry Ehrin and Carlton Cuse, to reach out to Rihanna about her interest in appearing in the final season of the A&E drama.

“All of these things require a creative conversation,” Cuse explains of Rihanna’s interest in Bates Motel.

“Once it became clear that she was interested in exploring the idea, Kerry and I got on the phone with her. We pitched what our idea was and she was very responsive. In any situation like this, you have to make sure you’re on the same page creatively and we had a really good conversation with her. That went a long way towards us making this happen.”

Similarly, Luc Besson previously spoke about his desire to include Rihanna in his sci-fi film, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, during an interview with EW last year, telling the publication that the “Needed Me” songstress was his “first wish” in casting the film.

“Rihanna was my first wish. First, because of her voice and the way she smiles and looks and how she expresses herself,” Besson revealed to the site.

“Second, because you know she won’t be intimidated on the set. She plays stadiums with 100,000 people. You know that girl isn’t shy about the camera and the crew and all this.”

Besson further added that Rihanna was “very direct” in her approach to her role in the film, which has remained tight-lipped despite the film’s impending debut on July 21, noting, “She said, ‘Luc, I want to learn, I want to work. Just let me do it.'”

“I must say that she was a great partner and did everything I asked,” Besson continued. “And believe me—I asked too much.”

As for Rihanna’s part in the all-female cast version of Ocean’s Eight, little is known about Rihanna’s role in the upcoming film, however, several paparazzi shots of Rihanna alongside cast members Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Helene Bonham Carter, and Sarah Paulson have appeared online while the group films on location in NYC.

Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Sandra Bullock, Rihanna, Sarah Paulson, Mindy Kaling and Cate Blanchett on set of #Oceans8. pic.twitter.com/5GYGiCA7og

— RihannaNavy96 (@RNavy96) December 4, 2016

What do you think of Rihanna’s upcoming film projects?

[Featured Image by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images; Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images]