After posting a teaser on social media yesterday, Rihanna finally premiered her new music video for “Sledgehammer” this morning on IMAX. The trippy, surreal short film takes you across the universe and onto a distant rocky planet, where the 28-year-old performer wanders alone, clad in a majestic robe. Magical orbs appear at her fingertips, and she has the ability to move rocks and shift the terrain around her. The new video is futuristic and mysterious, and Rihanna is essentially a sorceress empowered by her lonely yet magical alien capabilities.
Rih had released the single, written by Sia, earlier this week to accompany a Star Trek Beyond trailer. The film stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Zoe Saldana and hits theaters on July 22.
The Star Trek movie is directed by Justin Lin, while the music video is directed by Floria Sigismondi — whose resume also includes music videos for David Bowie, Katy Perry, Bjork, The White Stripes and Justin Timberlake, in addition to 2010’s indie feature drama The Runaways. It’s also a history-maker as it’s the first music video ever shot entirely with IMAX cameras.
The song is a follow-up to the release of Rihanna’s eighth studio album ANTI and she is currently on a world tour slated currently in Europe.
