In today's entertainment landscape, all the internet needs to do is dream and it shall receive.
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A buddy film starring popstar Rihanna and Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o, which began as a viral joke from a creative Tumblr user, has been green-lit as Netflix's next big movie project.
The streaming giant nabbed the film, set to be directed by Twitter's choice Ava DuVernay (Selma), after a "dramatic negotiation session" at the Cannes Film Festival, Entertainment Weekly reports.
The project has the most unlikely of origins for a Hollywood blockbuster: it all began with a few tweets that went viral just last month.
The original Tumblr meme, which borrowed a 2014 picture of the popstar and the actress sitting side-by-side in the front row of a Miu Miu fashion show, reimagined the duo - christened by the internet as #RihPita - as a scammer team, with Rihanna cast as a tough-as-nails hustler and Lupita as her brainy, computer-hacking partner-in-crime.
A picture for the history books pic.twitter.com/OgxAGZMn4Z??? ash (@blaquepink) April 18, 2017
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??? WHOOPHERASSKOURTNI (@1800SADGAL) April 18, 2017
The idea took off to such an extent that Twitter quickly reached out to a few of its other heroes - director DuVernay and writer Issa Rae (Insecure) - to get onboard the project.
All four women voiced their support for the fan-fiction idea, in what many assumed was that cuddly way Twitter users usually back-slap each other's gags.
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
The internet is now in shock that the idea has become reality, with DuVernay confirming the news with a simple tweet: "We deserve nice things."
We deserve nice things. ??????????https://t.co/VlbKhLNDIv??? Ava DuVernay (@ava) May 22, 2017
What're y'all wearing to the #RihPita premiere? I'm thinking something simple... pic.twitter.com/LFXcylkylp??? Magical Space Negro (@TyTheRobot) May 22, 2017
Since the initial idea went viral, Twitter users have gone on to flesh out other potential plot points in the "scammer story", including bringing in cameos from actress Viola Davis and comedian Aziz Ansari, following a viral picture taken at last month's Met Gala.
Aziz Ansari as the long-suffering logistics guy/caretaker/clean-up man who tries to keep them out of trouble pic.twitter.com/uIC8CKfWiB??? Lemony Thickett (@THISisLULE) May 2, 2017
It's unclear how much of the internet's groundwork Rae will use, but reps for the writer told Vanity Fair that "the original Twitter users who imagined the concept for this film will be credited and included in some form."
The production is due to start shooting in early 2018.