Zendaya, Josh O’Connor And Mike Faist Play Games in New Sports Film Challengers
Image: Screengrab
Zendaya (Euphoria), Josh O’Connor (The Crown), and Mike Faist (West Side Story) are set to play members of a love triangle/ threesome in a new queer romantic sports comedy.
The film, called Challengers, was directed by queer film director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name).
‘The Art Of Seduction And Other Games’
Written by American playwright and novelist Justin Kuritzkes, Challengers is described as “The art of seduction and other games,” the film’s official logline reads, “three players who knew each other when they were teenagers as they compete in a tennis tournament to be the world-famous grand slam winner and reignite old rivalries on and off the court.”
According to Variety, Challengers is about pro tennis player Tashi, played by Zendaya, and her husband, Art, played by Faist, who, reunite with a past rival and former lover, Patrick played by O’Connor. After an injury takes Tashi off the court, she convinces Art to enter the Challengers tennis tournament. He soon learns that he is playing against Patrick. “Drama — and major competition — ensues.”
The first trailer was released this week.
‘Beautifully Complex And Really Fucked-Up People’
In an interview with IndieWire, Guadagnino said, “I don’t want to think much about Challengers. I think those three characters in that movie are beautifully complex and really fucked-up people that I love very much. And a sports film, why not? It’s hyperkinetic, and I do films, so it’s great.”
He called the film “a fairly fizzy, sexy movie about the world of tennis.”
The film is set to be released on September 15, 2023
