Zendaya has become one of the most interesting actresses of her generation and has already amassed an impressive filmography up to this point. From her early days as a Disney protege to starring in big movies in the MCU and Dune, she has also managed to diversify his work with character-driven drams like Euphoria, and Malcolm and Marie.
She is currently starring in the new romantic sports drama Challengers. People have been intrigued and interested in the film since the release of the trailer months ago mainly due to a steamy scene involving her, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist. However, Zendaya poked fun at people’s fantasies after they saw that scene and revealed how the film played with the audience’s expectations.
Zendaya Points Out The Sexy Appeal of Challengers Without Having Any S*x Scenes
When the trailer of Zendaya’s Challengers was released last year, audiences were surprised by one steamy scene that was included in it. The scene teased a potential sensual s*x scene between Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist. People started fantasizing about the scene and it became the main focal point of interest as they awaited the release of the film.
In the film, Zendaya plays a committed tennis coach named Tashi Duncan who is married to a tennis star played by Mike Faist. who is on a losing streak. O’Connor plays her ex-boyfriend and the film is a wicked love triangle told through the lens of their desires and passion for tennis.
It seems that people took their expectations way too high regarding that viral scene, as Zendaya recently revealed to Indiewire how people weirdly told her about that assumed s*x scene in the film. The actress expressed her confusion with that as the film has no actual s*x scenes, despite being an incredibly sexy film. She said,
“What’s really special about this movie is that it is incredibly sexy, but there surprisingly [are] no s*x scenes,” she said. “I’ve been asked a lot about s*x scenes from people who have seen the movie, and I’m like, ‘What s*x scenes?’”
The actress further stated how the game of tennis serves as a metaphor for the characters’ motivations and it is the ‘s*x’ that people were looking forward to in the film. It is exciting to know how director Luca Guadagnino played with people’s expectations while not misleading what the film was about.
Zendaya Found It Scary to Play A Character Close to Her Age in Challengers
In two of her most popular projects, Euphoria and the Spider-Man films, Zendaya (who is 27 currently) has played high school-going teenagers. She has rarely played a character closer to her own age and with Challengers, she got to do just that. As refreshing as it was, the actress felt a bit scared to play the part.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Zendaya expressed her hopes about people accepting her playing a character her age, who’s a mom at the same time. She also stated how she has friends similar to her character Tashi in the film, who already have kids of their own. Zendaya said,
“I was like, I hope people buy me as my own age, or maybe a little bit older because I have friends that have kids or are having kids”
The Luca Guadagnino-directed film also stars Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor, and Jake Jensen. The film has already received rave reviews from critics and currently has an incredible 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. With Zendaya also serving as a co-producer, it looks like she has a big hit on her hands.
Challengers will hit theatres on April 26, 2024.
