New "The Smurfs" Movie Release Date Revealed

Paramount has unveiled the release date of the latest installment to The Smurfs cinematic franchise will be released on February 14, 2025. 

The company revealed Thursday the news at CinemaCon 2023. Paramount also announced that pop superstar Rihanna will lead the voice cast as Smurfette and create and perform her own music for the movie.

Little is currently known about the upcoming project other than that it's a musical movie and is a joint venture between Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies as part of their partnership inked last year. 

The latest entry hails from Puss in Boots director Chris Miller and prominent writer in Pam Brady. Latifa Ouaou, the executive vice president of movies and global franchises for Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation, is overseeing the development of the movie alongside Emily Nordwind.

It will be the first under Paramount but the fourth modern Smurfs movie. The movie marks the latest project for the Oscar-nominated Miller, who previously helmed a fair number of animated projects including The Penguins of Madagascar and Shrek the Third.

It will be the beginning of a massive slate of new projects involving the Smurfs as Paramount seeks to capitalize on the brand's massive reach.

The little blue creatures themselves were originally created by artist Pierre Culliford, better known by his pen-name Peyo, which has since branched out into a massive global franchise including films, television shows, and much more. 

The Smurfs began life as a Belgian comic in 1958 and spawned various animated series and movies. The property gained prominence in the U.S. thanks to the 1980s Hanna-Barbera Productions cartoon.

The Smurfs also made a resurgence in the 2010s, when a new movie titled "The Smurfs" premiered in theaters in 2011. The movie featured a star-studded cast that included Katy Perry and Neil Patrick Harris.