Zendaya doesn’t want eager Euphoria fans looking to her for answers about when the show’s long-delayed third season might start filming.
On Tuesday, the 27-year-old actress stopped by to chat about the hit HBO series while attending the premiere of her new movie Challengers in Los Angeles.
while talking to VarietyShe made it clear that she did not know when Euphoria would be back in production and emphasized that she is “not in charge.”
Although the Dune star, who is currently dating Tom Holland, pulls double duty on the high school-set series as lead actress and executive producer, she suggested the decision was above her pay grade.
Last month, HBO confirmed that the third season was still in the works and that series creator Sam Levinson was in the process of writing scripts, although Zendaya’s comments suggest she’s not even sure the show will return, and much less in a delay. schedule.
Zendaya, 27, said she’s “not in charge” of if or when Euphoria will return for a third season while chatting with Variety on Tuesday at the Challengers premiere in Los Angeles.
Last month, HBO confirmed that the third season was still in the works and that series creator Sam Levinson was in the process of writing scripts; frame of euphoria
When asked if Euphoria would return for a third season, the former Disney Channel star responded, “I don’t know!”
She looked nervous and added, “I’m not in charge.”
After being asked if she “wanted” the show to return for season three, Zendaya only gave her conditions for returning.
“Of course, if it’s right for the characters and everything works out as it should, of course,” he replied. “But it’s beyond me.”
HBO raised eyebrows last month when it not only admitted that the third season was being delayed, but was allowing actors under contract to take on other work in the meantime.
Although Levinson’s progress on the season’s scripts appears to be a major sticking point, the massive rise in fame of many of the show’s top stars is also believed to be an issue.
Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, Hunter Schafer, Maude Apatow and even recurring actor Colman Domingo have seen their professional fortunes skyrocket since last season, which can make it difficult to find a time to get them all together to shoot a third season.
And now, if those actors are given the green light to do other projects, HBO could find itself in an awkward position where Levinson finally finishes outlining the season, only to discover that some of the show’s leading figures are now committed to other films or television projects.
Variety reported later in March that Levinson’s early scripts had been a hit with HBO executives and seemed to address the problem of his cast aging and failing to play believable high schoolers, although they ran into a problem when Zendaya got the chance to read them.
Levinson reportedly wrote the third season with a five-year time jump and ‘meaty arcs’ for Sydney Sweeney and Jacob Elordi, but Zendaya wasn’t a fan of the new direction, though the publication notes she doesn’t have veto power about the scripts.
However, Levinson appears to have taken some of his notes, and his writing was also slowed by the overdose death of Angus Cloud, forcing him to rewrite parts of the season built around him, while the death of producer Kevin Turen’s heart failure at 45 also slowed Levinson.
Levinson originally planned to make Zendaya’s character Rue less prominent and gave her a surprising story as a private detective, which HBO reportedly rejected despite liking other parts of the first version of the scripts.
But revisions featuring Zendaya’s comments now imagined her as a sober pregnancy surrogate, which executives feared would not match the tone of the first two seasons.
Despite the headbutt, HBO still reportedly wants Euphoria to return, although it won’t put the show into production until full scripts have been agreed upon.
When asked if he wanted the series to return, he responded, “If it’s right for the characters and everything works out the way it should.”
“It’s beyond me,” he said of the decision. He was promoting his steamy new tennis drama Challengers with Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist.
Variety reported last month that HBO reportedly liked creator Sam Levinson’s season three scripts, but had a problem with Zendaya; seen with Hunter Schafer in Euphoria
She doesn’t have veto power, but her notes led him to rewrite a season that featured her as a private detective to make her a sober pregnancy surrogate, which HBO reportedly didn’t like; frame of euphoria
Following the report, Sydney Sweeney claimed that season three would begin filming soon.
In addition to starring in the animated new movie Challengers, Zendaya can still be seen in theaters in the box office hit Dune: Part Two alongside Timothée Chalamet.
Sweeney proved to be a major force when her romantic comedy Everyone But You became a surprise box office hit, while her nun exploitation horror film Immaculate was relatively well received by critics and fans.
Elordi’s profile soared last year with a major role in the erotic thriller Saltburn, as well as Sofia Coppola’s Elvis-adjacent biopic Priscilla, in which he played The King.