On Tuesday, a photo surfaced showing Rihanna posing with Donald Glover, supposedly on a film set in Cuba, causing immediate speculation about the nature of the project.
It was accompanied by a report from the Cuban culture magazine Vistar, claiming that the two performers were shooting a mysterious project called “Guava Island,” which would also feature actors Nonso Anozie, Letitia Wright and be directed by Glover’s long-time collaborator Hiro Murai.
For Rihanna’s rabid fanbase, who collectively have become experts tracking and dissecting her every move, there were plenty of tea leaves to read. The singer’s much anticipated ninth studio album – she was in the studio earlier this year – is expected to drop this fall. Meanwhile Childish Gambino (Glover’s rapping moniker) was just announced Monday as the featured performer at Rihanna’s Diamond Ball charity event on September 13.
With the Cuban project appearing to be Rihanna-centric, Vistar showing photos of her in character on set of the “musical film,” the pop singers fans are convinced the project is a music video – tied to what promises to be a Rihanna-heavy fall – which Childish Gambino (Glover is shirtless in the photo, as he often is when performing under his rapping moniker) would appear in.
Rihanna on the set of Guava Island pic.twitter.com/AMMDvJlYne
— Rihanna Diva (@RihannaDiva__) August 15, 2018
If “Guava Island” is a music video tied to Rihanna’s yet-to-be-announced new album, it will almost certainly be much bigger in scope than any normal music video – likely on par with Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” – and it would mean that the singer has hired Glover’s tight-knit “Atlanta” and “This Is America” team to make it for her.
Sources tell IndieWire that Murai and “Atlanta” series cinematographer Christian Sprenger have been in Cuba for a good portion of the summer – Murai having started scouting in June, and with both halves of the “Atlanta” directing/cinematography duo on location prepping for a good portion of July and August.
However, it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which the two would need that much time to prepare a single music video. Murai and Sprenger shoot episodes for one of the most cinematic half hours of TV in four-and-a-half days of production with very little stage work. Even for the heavily choreographed and visually stunning Childish Gambino video “This Is America” (shot by “Swiss Army Man DP Larkin Seiple), Murai told IndieWire that from the first day of rehearsal to post-production delivery, they turned the music video around in two weeks. Assuming that it is the Rihanna-Glover project they have been working on in Cuba, Sprenger and Murai have put in nearly the amount of prep time associated with a new season of “Atlanta” or an independent feature film.
(Excerpt) Read More at: IndieWire.com