Zendaya fans and fashion lovers alike have been following the Emmy-winning actress’ impressively tennis-themed sartorial journey as she promotes her new movie Challengers all over the world.
The Amazon MGM Studios drama arrives in theaters April 26, and it’s a must-watch, whether you’re a full-fledged Zendaya-phile or simply love a good drama.
Here’s everything you need to know about the movie.
Challengers is about the complicated relationships of three incredibly intense and ambitious prize-winning tennis players. Zendaya’s Tashi is a force of nature, on and off the court, who makes no apologies for her bodacious behavior.
Married to Art (Mike Faist), a champion on a losing streak, Tashi’s strategy for her husband’s redemption takes a surprising turn when he must face off against a struggling Patrick (Josh O’Connor), Art’s former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend. It’s a tennis match 13 years in the making since the day the pair first met Tashi when they were all teenagers. Told through a nonlinear narrative that spans over a decade, the trio’s pasts and presents are explored as well as their ever-changing intentions and desires.
It isn’t based on a true story. The film follows the fictional character, Tashi Duncan (played by Zendaya), who is a former tennis prodigy-turned-coach.
Faist may be familiar to musical lovers who checked out 2021’s reimagined West Side Story. The Tony-nominated actor performed in the original Broadway cast of Dear Evan Hansen, and appeared in the Broadway musical Newsies. O’Connor, meanwhile, is a British actor best known for his Emmy-winning role on The Crown, and his roles in the highly acclaimed films God’s Own Country and La Chimera.
Challengers was directed by Italian director and producer, Luca Guadagnino. “There were so many things that made me want to do this movie,” Guadagnino said. “Certainly, my complete worship of producer Amy Pascal is one of the most important reasons. The second reason was a very brilliant script by Justin Kuritzkes that had a great voice—it was so humorous and piercing. And the premise of the story—people who are complicated and who never really want to put things in place but in fact make things more complicated for themselves—was even better.”
Challengers was produced by Amy Pascal and Zendaya. “From the initial conversations I had with Amy and Luca, it was very clear that we were all on the same page with our vision for the film—it should still be humorous and have a levity to it, even as it deals with life situations that are nuanced and characters who have pain inside of them,” Zendaya said.
Challengers hits theaters April 26. Look for show times in a theater near you.
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