Actors Strike Delays Release of Zendaya’s ‘Challengers’; Film Won’t Premiere at Venice Film Festival

Fans will now have to wait a bit longer to see Zendaya’s hot new film “Challengers.”

The tennis drama, initially set to hit theaters September 15, has had its release pushed back to April 2024, E! News confirms.

The studio told the outlet the delay is due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, which began last week.

“Challengers” was set to have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on August 30, but that has also been impacted.

La Biennale di Venezia — the company behind the Italian film festival known for screening Oscar contenders — announced this week that the movie will no longer be premiering.

“‘Challengers’ will not participate at the festival following a decision made by the production,” read a statement on their website.

Zendaya will no longer be attending the glamorous festival either. The last time the “Euphoria” actress attended the Venice Film Fest was in 2021 to premiere “Dune.”

In “Challengers,” Zendaya stars as a former tennis prodigy who makes no excuses for how she plays the game, both on and off the court.

The trailer for the movie from filmmaker Luca Guadagnino starts off with a steamy scene involving Zendaya’s character, Tashi Duncan, seducing and being seduced by two friends, Art and Patrick, played by Mike Faist (“West Side Story”) and Josh O’Connor (“The Crown”).

Fast-forward to years later, when Tashi has married Art and become a tennis coach after an accident left her unable to continue playing competitively. Her plan to help her husband redeem himself in the sport takes an unexpected turn when he finds himself up against Patrick, his ex-best friend and Tashi’s ex-boyfriend.