Few things in this world are as visually stunning as a Luca Guadagnino movies, and his latest looks like yet another example of his brilliance. It helps that Zendaya is front and center in Challengers, which explores power dynamics, tennis, and the power love can hold over you. Or at least that’s what I got from the incredibly hot trailer. This cast is beautiful, but also the way that Luca Guadagnino shoots drama and tension? There’s nothing better.
Zendaya stars as Tashi, a former tennis superstar who gets injured and is forced into a life of coaching her husband Art (Mike Faist) into a famous player. Through their teenage love and Art’s former friendship with Patrick (Josh O’Connor), the group are all forced back together as adults because Tashi wants Art to play a “Challenger” event against Patrick.
The film is described as follows: “Tennis player turned coach Tashi (Zendaya) has taken her husband, Art (Mike Faist), and transformed him 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 pro tournament—where he finds himself standing across the net from his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend (Josh O’Connor).”
The thing is: This is hot. In the throuple sense. In the “everyone should be kissing each other” sense. Because that’s basically how they find themselves in this situation in the first place. It looks like Art, Tashi, and Patrick are a real triangle, and exploring how she ended up marrying Art over Patrick is going to be a journey that I want to be in the front row to see.
You had me at this cast (and Luca Guadagnino)
Beyond an intoxicating premise, the cast of this movie is also the best of the best of our internet loves. Faist became a fave after his role as Riff in West Side Story. He went on to star in Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game and he’s currently on the West End in an adaptation of Brokeback Mountain as Jack.
Josh O’Connor became a favorite for his role as Prince Charles in The Crown, so this is really one of those casts just filled with people we know and love. Plus, anything with Zendaya at the heart of it is going to be a great time for fans.
Honestly, Guadagnino has really found his niche in the film world and it’s making movies that appeal to our film-loving nature starring actors we’re obsessed with. Both Call Me By Your Name and Bones & All had Timothée Chalamet drawing fans, and now he’s doing it again with Zendaya at the heart. The Challengers trailer did exactly what all good trailers should do: It made me want to see this movie right now. Waiting for it feels like my own personal hell.
(featured image: MGM)
