It is in my expert opinion that Lupita Nyong'o has not been given the starring roles she deserves coming off her Oscar win for 12 Years A Slave in 2014. Why Hollywood is letting this talent down is inexplicable to me (though we can't ignore that being a Black woman may have something to do with it). But alas, Nyong'o's next big role is here — courtesy not of Hollywood, but of the creative collective mind of Black Twitter. Oh, also: her co-star is Rihanna.
This weekend, a resurfaced photo of Nyong'o and Rihanna at a Miu Miu runway show in 2014 snowballed into an idea for a truly awesome movie, and it looks like all parties are on board. It all started with Twitter user @1800SADGAL, who last week tweeted out the pic with this caption: "Rihanna looks like she scams rich white men and lupita is the computer smart best friend that helps plan the scans." Nyong'o retweeted that, tagging Rihanna and adding, "I'm down if you are." RiRi responded, "I'm in Pit'z" (and thus giving the actress the best nickname ever).
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Rihanna looks like she scams rich white men and lupita is the computer smart best friend that helps plan the scans https://t.co/PhWs1xd3nj
— k (@1800SADGAL) April 18, 2017
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
Okay, so we've got the stars down. But who will be behind the camera? Don't worry, Twitter thought of that too. "Next up: @IssaRae," a brilliant fan tweeted, submitting the Insecure creator-star's name for consideration. Rae needed no words to explain that she's ready to get to work: she replied with a GIF of a cat furiously typing. RiRi chimed in again with a basic but forgivable pun, "Issa possibility."
Then, director Ava DuVernay accepted her de facto nomination to direct the untitled project. "Lights set. Camera's up. Ready to call action for these #queens," the Selma director tweeted. It's really coming together, guys! There's even some concept art already, thanks to some talented and enthusiastic fans, which Nyong'o shared on her Instagram.
But we're still missing one major puzzle piece needed to make this dream movie a reality.
@dvrrxll @rihanna pic.twitter.com/XG2WMribGJ
— Issa Rae (@IssaRae) April 23, 2017
Issa possibility ? https://t.co/QrqjSFJ73f
— Rihanna (@rihanna) April 23, 2017
@MikelleStreet @rihanna Lights set. Camera's up. Ready to call action for these #queens. ? pic.twitter.com/NVgqpFeTnu
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) April 24, 2017
The last key ingredient? Money. Who's gonna produce, market, and distribute this thing? Well, a studio has already called dibs. Codeblack Films, a division of Lionsgate focused on producing movies by and about Black men and women, is wasting no time getting in on this brilliant vehicle. On Sunday, Codeblack's official account tweeted at Rihanna and Nyong'o: "move this from conversation to action! Codeblack Films / Lionsgate is ready! Now you have a studio partner." They added: "Lionsgate is ready! Are you guys serious? If so a deal can be done this week!" Let's start the 140-characters-or-less bidding war already.
Needless to say, we are 1,000% here for this brilliant fantasy film. And we're going to keep the dream alive as long as we can. Imagine if something actually came from this, and this time next year we'll all be heading to the theater to see the first big budget Twitter-born movie ever? RiRi, Lupita, Ava, Issa: we're begging you. Please help our wildest dreams come true and make this a real thing.
@rihanna @ava @Lupita_Nyongo move this from conversation to action! Codeblack Films / Lionsgate is ready! Now you have a studio partner .
— Codeblack Life (@CodeblackLife) April 24, 2017
@Lupita_Nyongo @rihanna Lionsgate is ready! Are you guys serious? If so a deal can be done this week!
— Codeblack Life (@CodeblackLife) April 24, 2017