Ahead of the release of Star Trek: Beyond, Rihanna has been speaking about her love for the movie franchise and the honour of being on its soundtrack.

In a featurette, Rihanna reveals that Star Trek has been a part of her life since she was a little girl. “My dad really is the one who introduced me to Star Trek. It just took me one episode to fall in love with this other world that I couldn’t understand but I felt like I could relate to,” she said.

Dressed in a Star Trek t-shirt, Rihanna said that she always felt “emotionally connected to the characters and whatever they were going through”. She added that it’s something that’s been a part of her since childhood, stating, “It’s never left me.”

Rihanna has recorded a song called ‘Sledgehammer’ for the movie soundtrack. Of the song, she said “It wasn’t like just doing a song for any random film. I love Star Trek, it was automatic. I would do anything in terms of music. It’s such a big deal, not only as a fan, [but] as a musician because Star Trek is such a big deal across the globe.”

Didn’t know @Rihanna was a #StarTrekMovie fan? Watch her talk about why she loves Star Trek in this featurette.https://t.co/196LW21SOO

— Star Trek (@StarTrekMovie) June 29, 2016

The singer continues to say that ‘Sledgehammer’ needed to be “big, impactful, very emotional, dramatic and haunting at the same time,” which we definitely think Rihanna has achieved.

The song was recently released on iTunes and Tidal,  receiving a great response online, including from Star Trek: Beyond actress Zoe Saldana. Referring to the recent passing of co-star Anton Yelchin, Saldana wrote on Instagram: “Thank you @badgalriri, for a beautiful song during one of the most difficult times for our StarTrek family. We know Anton would be proud.”

It has also been revealed that the music video for ‘Sledgehammer’ will drop tomorrow (June 30). The first ever IMAX music video will debut at 9am EST, and will follow on Tidal and VEVO at 10am EST.

https://twitter.com/rihanna/status/748159318541930496

The visual is set to be stunning, and to ramp up the excitement, Rihanna has tweeted this beautiful picture of herself.

#SLEDGEHAMMERVIDEO tomorrow. @StarTrekMovie pic.twitter.com/s098yzj8Hk

— Rihanna (@rihanna) June 29, 2016

Who knew that Ri-Ri was such a Trekkie? We can’t wait to see the ‘Sledgehammer’ video in full!

Star Trek: Beyond hits cinemas on July 22. Check out the latest trailer, featuring Rihanna’s ‘Sledgehammer’ below.

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