'Challengers' Trailer: Zendaya Embarks on a Twisty Tennis Love ...
“Love” means zero in the game of tennis, but the word appears to carry significant weight in Challengers—an upcoming sports drama starring Zendaya, The Crown’s Josh O’Connor, and West Side Story’s Mike Faist that just released its first trailer.
Call Me By Your Name filmmaker Luca Guadagnino teams up with first-time screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes to tell the story of Tashi Donaldson (Zendaya), a once-promising tennis prodigy who encounters two intriguing men while on the circuit. They would be Art (Faist) and Patrick (O’Connor), two fellow pros whose dynamic is first invigorated, then complicated by adding Tashi to the mix. Case in point: “It’s nice to see you lit up about something—even if it is my girlfriend,” Patrick tells Art in the new footage, which is set to Rihanna’s “S&M.”
After an injury, Tashi marries and becomes a coach for Art. Given Zendaya’s bob haircut, there appears to be a time-jump, after which Art and Patrick are forced to play against one another and reckon with their previous love affair. Sounds messy? That’s exactly as intended, as Guadagnino previously told IndieWire. He called the film’s three central characters “beautifully complex and really fucked-up people that I love very much,” adding, “it’s hyperkinetic.”
The film, which will land in theaters at the top of awards season, boasts high-profile pedigree beyond its stars and director. Amy Pascal (Little Women, The Post) is a producer alongside Guadagnino and Zendaya. And Oscar-winning Nine Inch Nails duo Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Social Network, Guadagnino’s Bones and All)have scored the project.
Challengers debuts theatrically on September 15.
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