Luca Guadagnino is serving up a sexy, enticing new movie in 2024 with Challengers, headlined by some of the biggest young stars in Hollywood — Zendaya and Josh O'Connor.
After working on a few high-profile projects with Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name and Bones and All), the Oscar-nominated Guadagnino teams up with Chalamet's Dune and Dune: Part Two co-star Zendaya for a tennis drama that promises to deliver plenty of it on and off the court.
Here is everything you need to know about Challengers, to when it's coming out, who's in it and more.
Challengers release date
MGM is serving up Challengers on April 26, when it'll premiere exclusively in movie theaters worldwide.
The movie was originally going to be premiere in fall 2023, but the actors' strike caused it to be moved to its 2024 date.
Challengers reviews
Reviews are starting to come in for Challengers, and the movie has critics buzzing. As of April 12, the movie has a 98% "Fresh" score on Rotten Tomatoes.
WTW will have its review of Challengers available closer to the movie's release.
Challengers plot
From an original script written by Justin Kuritzkes, here is the official synopsis of Challengers:
"From visionary filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, Challengers stars Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy turned coach and a force of nature who makes no apologies for her game on and off the court. Married to a champion on a losing streak, Tashi's strategy for her husband’s redemption takes a surprising turn when he must face off against the washed-up Patrick — his former best friend and Tashi's former boyfriend. As their pasts and presents collide, and tensions run high, Tashi must ask herself, what will it cost to win."
Challengers cast
Zendaya stars as Tashi Duncan in Challengers, the latest high-profile role for the Emmy-winning actress. Zendaya of course received those trophies for her role as Rue in Euphoria season 1 and Euphoria season 2, but she has also gained notoriety for being in the Spider-Man movies (Homecoming, Far From Home and No Way Home, to be specific), The Greatest Showman and the Dune franchise.
Her co-stars in the movie are Mike Faist as Tashi's husband Art and Josh O'Connor as their former friend and now rival Patrick. Faist's most notable credits are for the Prime Video series Panic and starring as Riff in Steven Spielberg's West Side Story. O'Connor is more widely known thanks to his role as Prince Charles in The Crown season 3 and The Crown season 4 and indie movies like God's Own Country, Emma and Mothering Sunday.
Challengers trailer
The trailer for Challengers definitely turns the heat up on this one, teasing a steamy story between the three leads. Watch the trailer directly below.
A second trailer for Challengers is now available as well, showcasing a bit more of the love triangle between Zendaya, O'Connor and Faist. Watch it right here:
It will be interesting to see if Challengers can live up to the expectations its trailers are throwing out there and be in the running to challenge any of these all-time great sexy movies.
Get another look at that potential with these clips from the movie:
You can also watch this feature that details how Zendaya trained to play a tennis phenom:
Luca Guadagnino movies
Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino has garnered quite the reputation as a filmmaker to make note of as it pertains to new projects. That's based on the success that he has had with his previous movies both in Italy and in the US. Here is a look at the list of his feature movie credits to date:
- The Protagonists (1999)
- Mundo civilizado (2003)
- Cuoco contadino (2004)
- Melissa P. (2005)
- I Am Love (2009)
- Bertolucci on Bertolucci (2013)
- A Bigger Splash (2015)
- Call Me By Your Name (2017)
- Suspiria (2018)
- Bones and All (2022)
