Few people in Hollywood today have the star power (or red carpet prowess) of Zendaya. The Euphoria star has already appeared in the year’s biggest blockbuster – Dune 2 – and is now taking centre court in Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers.
The film’s trailer certainly sets the scene for a steamy flick. We’ve got Josh O’Connor giving us sexy smirks, Mike Faist looking like an athletic Disney Prince, and Zendaya being the sporty femme fatale we didn’t know we needed.
Then there’s the now-famous ‘threesome scene’.
In Australia, Challengers received an M rating. However, in the US, the film is rated R, for graphic nudity, some sexual content and a spot of ‘adult’ language.
However, if you ask the film’s stars, the erotically charged movie doesn’t have a sex scene.
“We were asked about the sex scenes, and Z [Zendaya] was like, ‘there aren’t any’,” one of the film’s stars, Josh O’Connor told media in Sydney. “It wasn’t a stupid question. It’s a reasonable question because it feels so on the edge of that at all times.
“And actually, the tennis is the sex scene. That’s their intimacy.”
Challengers stars (L-R) Mike Faist, Zendaya and Josh O’Connor. Image: Warner Bros.Once you’ve seen the film, you’ll know what he means.
There is so much sexual tension flying around that court (accompanied by a sweaty nightclub soundtrack) that most of the film is basically foreplay.
For the uninitiated, Challengers follows tennis rivals Patrick (Josh O’Connor) and Art (Mike Faist) as they compete on and off the court for the attention of Zendaya’s Tashi.
Here’s what the stars had to say about the steamy Challengers sex scene on everyone’s lips.
Behind The ‘Challengers’ Hotel Threesome Scene
The most talked-about scene in the film includes a young Patrick, Art and Tashi gathering in a hotel room, where they drink beer and eventually share a three-way kiss.
Zendaya eventually divests from the kiss, letting her two eager bedfellows continue solo.
O’Connor, who plays Patrick, says from this scene forth, the three of them are bound.
“We were talking about one of the early scenes where Tashi comes to the hotel room and the three of them sit on the floor, which is such a teenage feeling, and I think it’s captured very well. And from that moment, the three of them are bound. That scene with the three-way kiss, and [then] Tashi is enjoying the view of them, I think that puts them all in this tornado together.
“The love and attraction and lust they have for each other is unanimous. The three of them are bound from the start.”
Intertwined, they are indeed.
The relationship between Art and Patrick continually converges on the homo-erotic, with many reviewers commenting on the sexual undercurrent of the pair’s competition on the court.
“All three of them are desperate for connection, whether it’s Art seeking to restore the love in his marriage, or Tashi to restore this three way love affair. I think Patrick, likewise, tennis to him is this utmost connection. And he’s always searching for that with Art and Tashi, as well,” he explained.
As Zendaya joked: “We say it’s co-dependency the movie!”
Challengers is in Australian cinemas from April 18, 2024.
