It’s not all that often you see sport and romance cross-over films and it’s even more rare they’re considered a success.
So there’s serious intrigue surrounding Zendaya’s newest movie ‘Challengers’, that’s exactly what you will see.
Coming to theatres this April, Challengers is expected to be a ‘steamy’ film that follows the story of Tashi Duncan – played by Zendaya – a tennis prodigy destined for greatness who suffers a career-ending injury and finds herself caught in a love-triangle with two other players.
Directed by Luca Guadagnino, known for his best work on ‘Call Me By Your Name’, this love story of sorts centres around the game of tennis, but interestingly has been given the film rating of ‘R’ (18+), which ‘reveals’ quite a lot, pardon the pun.
Some have made wild predictions that Zendaya could win an Academy Award for her upcoming role in Challengers, considering she’s partnering with an Oscar-nominated director, and the fact she’s usually brilliant in everything she stars in. On the flip side, some critics have voiced pretty scathing reviews.
Regardless, this movie is capturing attention, with tennis playing the role of supporting actor throughout the film duration.
‘Challengers’ starring Zendaya: All the key details
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When will Challengers be released?
April 18, 2024 in Australia
Australian audiences will be able to watch this film at all good movie cinemas from April 18. Initially it was meant to come out in September last year, but was delayed like many other movies we will see in 2024 due to the Hollywood actors and writers strikes.
Is there a trailer?
Of course there is, and it’s definitely worth the watch.
What is Challengers about?
Get ready for what is expected to be a colliding of genres – sport meets romance – with the upcoming tennis film titled ‘Challengers’ set to venture into those waters, as it follows the fiction story of three tennis players.
Basically, the film shows a superstar tennis called Tashi Duncan, played by Zendaya, who at the start is at the top of the game of tennis – playing at the US Open as seen in the trailer – but after a career-ending injury is sent into a downfall where she gets herself caught in a love-triangle of sorts.
The two other male tennis players involved called Art and Patrick form a rivalry off the back of meeting Tashi, as the two compete for her attention. Both have their moments with Tashi — Patrick dates her first before she chooses to marry Art, after he helps her through dealing with the injury.
Supposedly the film takes place over several years, and the relationship between the three main characters has changed drastically. Tashi becomes Art’s coach and turns him into a Grand Slam champion, before falling into a performance slump and losing his confidence on the court.
Now is when the title the ‘Challenger’ makes sense, with Art now dropping to the ‘challenger tour’ – a reserve grade of sorts – where he faces off against his old friend and Tashi’s ex-boyfriend Patrick.
So you can expect this movie is going to have a lot of drama and spice throughout it.
Which actors are in the film?
Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist
The actor, or actress in this case, that is set to reel in thousands of viewers is none-other than former Disney star and now worldwide famous celebrity, Zendaya.
She plays the main character Tashi Duncan who is at the centre of this love-triangle between Patrick (played by Josh O’Connor) and Art (played by Mike Faist).
Rumour has it that they all trained to look the part on the tennis court, but Zendaya in particular trained for three months to be in ‘tennis shape’.
