Zendaya’s upcoming new movie, Challengers. may seem like a lighthearted romance movie with a touch of tennis, but the “Euphoria” actress says it’s so much more.
At the recent Los Angeles premiere of the Luca Guadagnino-directed romantic sports dramedy, the actor told reporters that the project is “incredibly sexy” with there being “surprisingly no sex scenes in the movie.”
“I’ve been asked a lot about sex scenes, like, ‘What was it like shooting the sex scenes?’ from people who have seen the movie, and I’m like, ‘What sex scenes?’” Zendaya told the press. “And they’re like, ‘Oh my God, technically not really.'”
“We keep saying tennis is the sex in the movie, and I think tennis holds a metaphor for a lot of things: desires, passion, pain, anger, frustration,” she continued. “I think they all use tennis as this way of communicating with each other when they just don’t have the words.”
In the film, Zendaya plays former tennis champion Tashi, who takes to coaching after her career was cut short by an injury. She soon finds herself coaching her husband, Art (Mike Faist) — himself a mid-level athlete — as he purses his dream of becoming a Grand Slam champion. After being encouraged by Tashi, Art squares off in a match against his former best friend, Patrick (Josh O’Connor), who also happens to be Tashi’s ex.
What happens next is a classic tale of forbidden lust and love triangles that, while taking on a sexual tone, manages to give so much without getting explicit.
“What Luca’s really good at is finding sensuality and desire,” Zendaya said of the R-rated film. “There’s so much in just glances. The tension builds. Not having the release is a good thing sometimes.”
Challengers will find its way into theaters on April 26.
