Zendaya plays a game of seduction in sultry Challengers trailer

21 Jun 2023

Luca Guadagnino serves up a scandalous love triangle in the first trailer for Challengers, a romance set against the world of professional tennis starring Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O'Connor.

Challengers - Figure 1
Photo Yahoo Canada Sports

The Emmy-winning Euphoria star plays Tashi Duncan, a tennis prodigy-turned-coach who "makes no apologies for her game on and off the court," per the synopsis. She's married to a Grand Slam champion named Art (Faist), who finds himself on a losing streak. Tashi employs a redemption strategy at a challenger event that sees Art facing off against Patrick (O'Connor), his former best friend and Tashi's ex-boyfriend.

"As their pasts and presents collide and tensions run high," the synopsis reads, "Tashi must ask herself what will it cost to win."

Mike Faist, Zendaya, and Josh O'Connor in 'Challengers'

Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures Mike Faist, Zendaya, and Josh O'Connor in 'Challengers'

Rihanna's "S&M" plays throughout the clip, which you can watch above, as the trio's teenage love triangle boils back to the surface. "I think those three characters in that movie are beautifully complex and really f---ed up people that I love very much," the director told IndieWire. "And a sports film, why not?"

Challengers - Figure 2
Photo Yahoo Canada Sports

Zendaya as Tashi in CHALLENGERS, directed by Luca Guadagnino, a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film.

Niko Tavernise / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures Zendaya in 'Challengers'

Guadagnino revealed last year that the lead stars trained on the court for three months, which counts former professional tennis player Brad Gilbert as a consultant.

Guadagnino's most recent film was 2022's Bones and All. Zendaya will next appear in Dune: Part Two and Euphoria season 3, while O'Connor (The Crown) will next appear in Lee and The History of Sound. Faist, who played Riff in Steven Spielberg's West Side Story, will next appear in The Bikeriders.

Challengers arrives in theaters Sept. 15. Watch the trailer above.

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