LOS ANGELES, March 26 (UPI) -- Singer/actress Beyonce has signed on to play the love interest of Steve Martin's Inspector Clouseau in the upcoming "The Pink Panther."
Beyonce, who has co-starred in the films "Austin Powers in Goldmember" and "The Fighting Temptations," will play a pop star named Xania whose boyfriend is the owner of the infamous Pink Panther diamond.
She becomes a suspect when he is found dead and the diamond goes missing, MTV reported Friday.
Clouseau enters the story when Chief Inspector Dreyfus, played by Kevin Kline, needs him to take over the investigation.
Shawn Levy, Martin's "Cheaper by the Dozen" director, will direct the comedy, a prequel to the 1963 original, which launched the classic series with Peter Sellers as Clouseau.
"The Pink Panther" will film in New York and Paris beginning in May, after Beyonce wraps the "Ladies First Tour" with Alicia Keys and Missy Elliott.
