Challengers is a very different role for Zendaya, allowing the actress to play against type as a former tennis prodigy turned coach called Tashi who makes no apologies for her game on and off the court.
In the second half of the movie, Tashi is arguing with her husband Art when their young daughter Lily interrupts them to ask if she can watch one of the Spider-Verse movies instead of the tennis that's playing on TV in the background.
Needless to say, even though Zendaya hasn't lent her voice to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse or Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, many moviegoers will likely assume this was a cheeky nod to her role as MJ in Marvel Studios' live-action franchise. Not so, according to director Luca Guadagnino.
"When you get rights for something to be used in a movie, it's very complicated," he tells Entertainment Weekly. "Amy Pascal, our amazing producer, was of help there. I said, 'Amy, can we use one of your catalog titles so it's going to be easier to clear them?'"
"[Lily]'s a girl; she's not going to choose to watch The Social Network or The Post, but maybe she's going to watch a Spider-Man cartoon, so I said, 'Why not Spider-Verse?' Now I realize that it sounded like an in-joke, which, you know, the unconscious guides us all the time."
Zendaya, who is rumoured to be planning a wedding along MCU co-star Tom Holland, recently spoke to Variety about why she took on this role.
"I’ve been playing 16-year-olds since I was 16," the former Disney star explained. "So it was nice to play a character that was not a child anymore. It was also interesting playing parts of my life that I haven’t experienced yet: I’ve not gotten married. I’ve not had a child."
"Those milestones, I don’t necessarily have a direct reference point in my own life for. That was different to feel. Ultimately, it felt like the right time for a character like this."
Between this and Dune: Part Two, we'd say Zendaya is doing a great job of not allowing Spidey to overshadow her. Oddly enough, though, she's followed in Kirsten Dunst and Emma Stone's footsteps by starring in a tennis movie after sharing the screen with the web-slinger...
From visionary filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, 'Challengers' stars Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy-turned-coach and a force of nature who makes no apologies for her game on and off the court. Married to a champion on a losing streak (Mike Faist), Tashi’s strategy for her husband’s redemption takes a surprising turn when he must face off against the washed-up Patrick (Josh O’Connor)—his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend. As their pasts and presents collide, and tensions run high, Tashi must ask herself, what will it cost to win?
Oscar and BAFTA nominee Guadagnino ('Call Me By Your Name,' 'I Am Love') directs from a screenplay by Justin Kuritzkes. The film is produced by Amy Pascal, Guadagnino, Zendaya and Rachel O’Connor, with Bernard Bellew serving as executive producer.
Golden Globe winner Zendaya (the 'Dune' films, 'Euphoria') stars alongside Golden Globe and SAG Award winner and BAFTA nominee Josh O’Connor ('The Crown') and BAFTA nominee Mike Faist ('West Side Story').
Guadagnino’s creative team includes such frequent collaborators as director of photography Sayonbhu Mukdeeprom, production designer Merissa Lombardo and editor Marco Costa, as well as costume designer Jonathan Anderson. The film’s score is by Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA winners Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross ('Soul,' 'The Social Network,' 'Bones and All').