We've seen Zendaya in a variety of different roles: a recovering addict, a witty comic book character, and a Chicago dancing queen (IYKYK). Up next? A tennis prodigy. In her new film Challengers, she stars as Tashi, a tennis player-turned-coach following an injury on the court. Even though the SAG-AFTRA actors' strike pushed the film, which was originally supposed to open the 2023 Venice Film Festival, to April 2024, we're still more than excited to see Z dominate — both on the tennis court and off. Check out the rest of this year's April movies (and spring movies) to see what else is coming in 2024.
Watch The New Challengers Clip
CHALLENGERS | Asking For Your Number – Official Clip
In the first clip from the Challengers movie, you can immediately feel the chemistry between Zendaya's Tashi, Mike Faist's Art, and Josh O'Connor's Patrick. Tashi isn't sure she wants to get involved with Art and Patrick, but they might prove to be pretty persistent...
Watch The New Challengers Trailer For 2024
CHALLENGERS | Official Trailer 2
Okay, I knew that Challengers would focus on a love triangle but I didn't realize just how messy this story was going to be — and I have so many questions. Is Tashi actually coaching both Art and Patrick at the same time? Is she exploring relationships with both of them at the same time? This is totally reminding me of the love triangles of teen dramas like One Tree Hill and The Summer I Turned Pretty and I am not mad about it.
What is Challengers about?
CHALLENGERS | Official Trailer
Zendaya stars as Tashi, a coach who's using her experience as a pro tennis player to turn her husband Art into a champion. Tashi decides that he needs to play a challenger event (almost the lowest tournament level on the professional tour), but things take a turn when Art is pitted against Patrick, his former best friend — and Tashi's ex.
When is the Challengers release date?
Image via Amazon MGM Studios
Because of the delay, Challengers will now hit theaters on April 26, 2024. Since the movie totally revolves around tennis, this is the perfect spring movie IMO!
Who else is in the Challengers cast?
Image via Amazon MGM Studios
In addition to Zendaya, we'll see Mike Faist, who was in the original Broadway cast of Dear Evan Hansen and in 2021's West Side Story, and Josh O'Connor, known for The Durrells in Corfu and The Crown.
Luca Guadagnino directed, while the script was written by Justin Kuritzkes. Amy Pascal, Luca Guadagnino, Zendaya, and Rachel O’Connor serve as producers.
Where can I watch the Zendaya's Challengers movie?
Image via Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images
Instead of opening the Venice Film Festival, Challengers is now coming to theaters next year. Considering it's being distributed by Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures and Amazon Studios, it might also end up on Prime Video after its theater run ends.
Is Challengers based on a true story?
Image via Amazon MGM Studios
Challengers is not based on a true story but if you're looking for some IRL tennis drama, check out Break Point ;).
Where did they film the Challengers movie?
Image via Amazon MGM Studios
Zendaya and the rest of the cast filmed Challengers from May to June 2023, mainly in Boston, Massachusetts. Warmer weather and sunny days can set the tone for filming intense scenes, especially when you're playing tennis outside, and I'm excited to see how that affects the rest of the movie.
Did Zendaya have to learn tennis for Challengers?
Zendaya On Her In-N-Out Order, Last Show Binged & Styling w/ Law Roach | Ask Me Anything | ELLE
In a (pre-strike) interview with ELLE, Zendaya explains how she prepped for Challengers, and how one of the biggest, er, challenges, was the training process.
"My fans know this about me — I'm not the hugest fan of having to work out. I don't necessarily look forward to it, but I had to because my character's supposed to be a tennis pro, and clearly I'm not giving tennis pro, right?" she jokes, referencing her arms. "Yet!"
"We had an incredible team of people that we got to learn from, but I was with Josh (O'Connor) and Mike (Faist) every day," she continues. "They were the reason that I was able to smile and laugh through our workout sessions. It was a good time. I think we all really needed to lean on each other in those moments."
We're certain that whatever bond they formed during training will come through in their performances. We can already tell all three have great chemistry!
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Lead image via Amazon MGM
This post has been updated.
