The Tennis Princess herself has spoken, and she wants to do even more projects with a certain fan-favorite director!
Out had the chance to sit down and chat with the Challengers cast — Zendaya, Josh O'Connor, and Mike Faist — ahead of the highly-anticipated (and homoerotic) film's release this Friday, and we discussed everything from cinematic slaps to fluid characters to director Luca Guadagnino's iconic filmography — and that included the hope for future collaborations with Zendaya and Guadagnino!
If you don't already know, the queer filmmaker is a major force in Hollywood, known for films such as Suspiria, Bones & All, and the Oscar-winning, queer coming-of-age film Call Me by Your Name.
Although this may be Guadagnino's first film with Zendaya, we are sure it won't be his last, as he is known for collaborating with many of his favorite editors, screenwriters, and actors multiple times. During our interview, we asked the Challengers stars about working with Guadagnino and which of his past films they would go back to play a role in.
"I Am Love," O'Connor answered. "Dunno who I'd play in that, just a little guest role. I'd love that."
"I'd do A Bigger Splash," Faist said, following up O'Connor. "I would like to play Ralph Fiennes in that role, in the dancing scene when he's dancing right to the camera." (Luca, we may need a remake for Mike Faist on this one!!)
Lastly (but never least), Zendaya answered: "I don't know. I think what's so special about his filmography is character. Everything is so character driven and that's why it's really difficult to choose one because I think much to this, he cares about performance and he leads with dealing with the humanity of a character first. There's so much to choose from because you can't ever say that no matter how small a role is in one of his films, there's always a reason that they're there and they add so much to the story. And I think he doesn't just have characters in just for the sake of having them. So I think that's a very difficult question to answer."
"Honestly, hopefully I get to be in something in his future," she concluded. "I'm excited to see what Luca does after this and continues to do."
When it comes to movie magic, we're crossing our fingers and hoping Guadagnino and Zendaya get to create more in the future! If it's anything like their current project, it will be a SERVE. (No pun intended!)
Challengers hits theaters on Friday, April 26.
