Zendaya fans who were eagerly anticipating her new movie ‘Challengers’ will have to wait a bit longer, as the film has been delayed from its original September 15, 2023 release date to April 26, 2024. The reason for the postponement is the ongoing actors and writers strikes that have affected the film industry.
‘Challengers’ is a romantic sports comedy-drama directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes. The film stars Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, a tennis player-turned-coach who signs up her husband and Grand Slam champion Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) for a challenger event where he will face off against her former lover Patrick (Josh O’Connor). The film explores the rivalry and attraction between the three characters on and off the court.
The film was set to premiere at the 80th Venice Film Festival as the opening night film, but it was pulled from the event by MGM due to the labor disputes. The film will also skip a theatrical release in France and will instead stream on Amazon Prime Video.
‘Challengers’ is Zendaya’s first collaboration with Guadagnino, who previously directed her in the HBO series ‘Euphoria’. The film also reunites Zendaya with O’Connor, who co-starred with her in ‘Malcolm & Marie’. Zendaya also serves as a producer on the film, along with Guadagnino, Rachel O’Connor and Amy Pascal.
Zendaya spent three months training with pro-tennis player-turned-coach Brad Gilbert to prepare for her role. The film was shot in Boston in May and June of 2022, with Sayombhu Mukdeeprom as cinematographer and Jonathan Anderson as costume designer. The film’s score was composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
‘Challengers’ is one of the many films that have been affected by the strikes, which began in October 2022 and have not been resolved yet. The strikes have caused delays, cancellations and disruptions in the production and distribution of films and TV shows across Hollywood.
Fans of Zendaya will have to wait for almost a year to see her in ‘Challengers’, but they can still catch her in other projects, such as ‘Dune: Part Two’, which is scheduled for release on October 20, 2023, and ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, which is set for release on December 17, 2021.