Rihanna & Lupita Nyong'o Meme-Inspired Film Coming Soon

Photo by Pascal Le Segretain

As proof of the power of Twitter, Netflix has picked up a film project starring Rihanna and Lupita Nyong'o, with Selma director Ava DuVernay on board to direct and Insecure's Issa Rae in talks to write the screenplay.

First reported Monday by Entertainment Weekly, the buddy movie was largely created in concept via a series of tweets and memes as a 2014 photo (above) of Rihanna and Nyong'o attending a Miu Miu fashion show went viral.

"Rihanna looks like she scams rich white men and Lupita is the computer smart best friend that helps plan the [scams]," one user wrote, leading calls for a film. Nyong'o eventually responded that she's "down" if her proposed co-star agrees, to which RiRi announced, "I'm in."

The Twitter proposal eventually made its way to DuVernay, who quickly responded favorably. "Lights set. Camera's up. Ready to call action for these queens," she said. Rae also reacted with a gif of a cat feverishly typing on a MacBook, suggesting her own interest.

It's unclear how much influence the crowd-sourced concept will play in the final product, but the quick development is surely another win for Twitter fans. The project is expected to go into production in 2018, although Netflix has yet to officially comment.