'Star Trek' Fans, Rejoice! Rihanna's One of You

The star admitted to being a huge fan in a featurette for the upcoming film.

ByABC News
July 1, 2016, 10:40 AM

— -- "Sledgehammer," Rihanna's new Sia-penned ballad, appears in the upcoming “Star Trek Beyond.” But if super-cool RiRi and the geek-tastic “Star Trek” universe seem like an odd pairing, here's a shocker: She's actually a huge Star Trek fan from back in the day.

"’Star Trek’ has been a part of my life since I was a little girl," Rihanna said in a featurette created to promote the movie. "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.

"I was always very curious about the characters and the storyline," she adds. "You always felt emotionally connected to the characters and whatever they were going through."

Rihanna, 28, doesn't specify which TV iteration of “Star Trek” she prefers -- the original series, “The Next Generation,” “Deep Space Nine,” “Voyager’ or “Enterprise” – but, regardless, she says she was thrilled to be asked to contribute a song to “Star Trek Beyond.”

"It wasn’t like just doing a song for any random film. I love ‘Star Trek.’ It was automatic," she says. "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."

“Star Trek Beyond,” the third installment of the newly rebooted film series, opens July 22. Rihanna's song "Sledgehammer," written by Australian songwriter Sia, is available now, and the video is online, too.