Euphoria star Zendaya, The Crown’s Josh O’Connor and West Side Story breakout actor Mike Faist have teamed up with filmmaker Luca Guadagnino for a romantic drama, Challengers.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Challengers is a tennis-themed project. The logline, per MGM, centers on “Tashi, a tennis player turned coach, who has taken her husband, Art, and transformed him from a mediocre player into a world-famous grand slam champion. To jolt him out of his recent losing streak, she makes him play a ‘Challenger’ event — close to the lowest level of tournament on the pro tour — where he finds himself standing across the net from the once-promising, now burnt-out Patrick: his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend.” Old rivalries, on and off the court, are reignited.
Zendaya is playing Tashi. Faist is the husband, and O’Connor is the former flame. Zendaya’s deal is closed (according to Puck, the actress is getting over $10 million for her services) while O’Connor and Faist are in negotiations for the feature,
On the work front, Zendaya can currently be seen in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which has grossed almost $1.8 billion since its December 17, 2021, release. Zendaya also appeared in Dune, which earned 10 Oscar nominations. She is currently the lead actress in HBO series Euphoria, which has been renewed for third season.
Josh O’Connor won an Emmy last year for his portrayal of Prince Charles in Netflix’s acclaimed drama The Crown. Mike Faist has been generating buzz as Riff in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, receiving his first BAFTA award nomination for the performance.
Challengers is being produced by Amy Pascal as well as Guadagnino and Zendaya. The script, by playwright-singer-author Justin Kuritzkes, was featured on the 2021 Black List. Guadagnino is currently in postproduction on cannibal drama Bones and All, starring Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell. The Challengers production team is planning a spring shoot on the East Coast.
source https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/zendaya-josh-oconnor-mike-faist-star-luca-guadagninos-romantic-drama-challengers/