Luca Guadagnino is back in theaters with Challengers, a movie about tennis and love triangles starring Zendaya and Josh O’Connor, who played a young Prince Charles in The Crown.
So far, Guadagnino has given us a remake of Suspiria, an LGBT love story that made us all cry, a great movie with Tilda Swinton and Dakota Johnson, and he’s working on a miniseries called Brideshead Revisited. This new movie adds to a list of hits that have made him a favorite in the industry.
This time, the director is working with Zendaya (who won an Emmy for Euphoria) for the first time. Zendaya is about to premiere the Dune 2 with Timothée Chalamet, who has worked with Guadagnino on two other films, and Florence Pugh, and she becomes the main character in a complicated love story.
The story is about Zendaya as a tennis coach who has to help her partner save her job and get back on track so that she can redeem herself.
The Challenger Trailer
In the first trailer for the movie, we meet Tashi Duncan, a tennis prodigy like Serena Williams who wants to build an empire around tennis while trying to keep her marriage together. Things get complicated when a new player comes on the scene and catches the eye of her husband, who is looking for a chance to get to the top of his career.
The Challengers Cast
Challengers is a movie directed by Luca Guadagnino. It stars Zendaya, who has been in movies like Netflix’s Euphoria, Dune, and Malcolm and Marie. It also stars Josh O’Connor, who won an Emmy for The Crown and has been in Emma and God’s Own Country, and Mike Faist, who has been in West Side Story and Wildling.
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Jake Jensen is also in the movie. He was in the movie with Will Smith about Serena Williams’s father, King Richard, which Smith also starred in.
When will be Challengers Release Date?
The Challengers movie will release in theaters later this year — on September 15, 2023. Like Call Me by Your Name, it could get Guadagnino nominated for a lot of awards.
What is Challengers about?
Challengers is a story about love, but also about jealousy, competition, envy, and many other human feelings. At the center of the story is a love triangle.
The official summary says that Zendaya plays Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy who is now a teacher.
She is a force of nature on and off the court and doesn’t care what people think of her. Tashi is married to a down-on-his-luck winner (Mike Faist from West Side Story).
Her plan to help him get back on his feet takes a shocking turn when she has to face her former best friend and ex-boyfriend, Patrick (Josh O’Connor from The Crown). As her past and present meet and emotions rise, Tashi must wonder what it will take to win.
Guadagino wanted the story to be very realistic. That’s why the actors had to train for three months with professional tennis player Brad Gilbert, who also advised to make sure all the details were right.
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The music in the movie comes from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The director calls it his first comedy.
Who Is Behind Challengers?
The film story is written by first-time screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes, but it is a more notable person in the cast that has piqued the media’s interest. It was revealed in February 2022 that Guadagnino would helm the film, following his success with Call Me By Your Name and, more recently, Bones and All, starring Taylor Russell and Timotheé Chalamet.
In addition to working with Guadagnino on Bones and All, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, the duo behind the highly renowned and critically praised music for The Social Network as well as many other stunningly evocative scores, are composing the score. With cinematography by the award-winning Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (Thirteen Lives), who has collaborated with Guadagnino on Suspiria and Call Me By Your Name, this ensemble of actors and crew looks especially promising for fans’ expectations upon the film’s premiere. A fantastic crew is one thing, but a crew that is accustomed to proudly working together is typically a sure prescription for success.
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With that in mind, fans have every right to regard Challengers as not only one of the must-see romantic comedies of 2023, but also one of the must-see movies in general.
When and Where Did Challengers Film?
Challengers filming began on May 3, 2022, with the majority of the action taking place in Boston. Filming was completed on June 26.
