'Challengers': Zendaya’s Sex Scenes Were *Not* What the Girls Anticipated
From endless suggestive food references to *that* hotel room scene.
The highly anticipated Challengers movie has finally released… and the girls are not impressed with Zendaya‘s sex scenes. Weird.
The art of seduction is one only few master and it’s undeniable that Zendaya has cleared in that regard. It’s become synonymous with her name, so much so, fans joke that models are lucky she doesn’t become a full-time model, or else many would be out of work.
According to Challengers director Luca Guadagnino, Zendaya’s “implicit” and seductive nature was the perfect match for the film. “The way she expresses and exudes the power of her athleticism is wonderful, but at the same time, the way she goes through seduction is very beautiful in the film.” As for fans hoping for threesomes galore, “the tennis is the sex,” shared Challengers star Josh O’Connor at the time.
where are these so called unnecessary sex scenes in challengers that yall are talking about? pic.twitter.com/kbDbvGZ0Vs
— drea 🔪 (@carpenterIuvbot) April 28, 2024
Despite the fair warning, many fans were stunned when the film didn’t overtly address sexuality as they’d hoped. During that scene everyone anticipated, Tashi (played by Zendaya) sits on the hotel room bed with her mates and enjoys a threeway kiss. After sharing the intimate moment, Tashi sits back and watches her two men, proudly. One area that viewers weren’t anticipating however, was the number of kinky food references. From churros to bananas, its clear the film is one long sensual playground, versus the kinky threesomes most were anticipating.
Zendaya believes this is the perfect match that has already made the film highly acclaimed, before its launch. “It’s what Luca does so well,” she said. “It’s the things that aren’t. It’s the moments between the moments. Like, chemistry. The things that you can’t always say, but you feel. That is Luca’s specialty when it comes to filmmaking. All the things that aren’t on the page that only someone who’s got the camera can really find.”
we didn’t any actual sex scenes during challengers because all the tennis scenes were so intimate and intense (and sweaty) that they felt like sex scenes pic.twitter.com/72YvNNEkhY
— dev patel’s manager (@carriespoetsoc) April 29, 2024
Despite teasing that the film wasn’t as sexy as trailers and threesome discussions led on, Zendaya’s latest conversation with The Hollywood Reporter dives into steamy scene preparation. “We had an intimacy coordinator which was fantastic and very helpful,” Zendaya said. “It was important that we felt safe. I spoke with my colleagues so that we could find a way to feel at ease. We played tennis together, we went out together, we rehearsed together. We got to bond and feel good with each other.”
no sex scenes in challengers?! so tashi and patrick not finna double team art fr?! pic.twitter.com/t1CPpZKG3k
— jay | (CHALLENGERS SPOILERS) (@stormbxrnbaby) April 27, 2024
In other news, meet the mind behind MEANDSOMEBODYSON.
This article was originally published on August 24, 2023.