Rihanna was Ryan Coogler’s first choice for the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack.

The Wild Thoughts hitmaker’s first song from the soundtrack, Lift Me Up, arrive on Friday (October 28), and the movie’s director says the new mother was the perfect fit because motherhood is a big theme in the Marvel flick.

Ryan explained how they were “looking for artistes who would embody it thematically”.

MOTHERHOOD A BIG THEME IN FILM

He added to The Hollywood Reporter: “Rihanna, man, we knew she was at a point in her life as well where she was focusing on different things — focused on business, motherhood, which is a big theme in our film. We were holding out hope that maybe it could work out and boy did it for this song.”

The 34-year-old singer gave birth to her first child, a baby boy, with A$AP Rocky in May.

The song is also “a tribute to the extraordinary life and legacy of Chadwick Boseman”.

The beloved late actor starred as the titular character, whose real name is T’Challa, in the original 2018 blockbuster.

T’Challa was not recast in Wakanda Forever, however, co-writer and helmer Coogler made sure to keep Boseman’s family and creative contacts in the loop on the re-write.

FILM HITS THEATRES NOVEMBER 11

Said Coogler: “Chadwick had people who were in his life creatively, as well as family, and we were in close contact with those people, very close specifically with his wife, Simone, and his creative partner Logan Coles.

“We were staying tapped in with them as much as we could, and it gave us the space to create, but obviously we were seeking out their opinion all the time. We’re looking forward to sharing it with everybody.”

The film hits cinemas on November 11.