Aug. 1 Update: Due to the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, “Challengers” was pushed back to April 26, 2024.

By Dana Barbuto/Boston Movie News

Zendaya plays a tennis star torn between two lovers in the made-in-Massachusetts comedy “Challengers,” originally scheduled to hit theaters Sept. 15. The new release is April 26.

The “Spider-Man” actress co-stars with Mike Faist, a standout as Riff in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” remake, and Josh O’Connor, who plays a young Prince Charles in “The Crown.” 

Director Luca Guadagnino on the set of "Challengers" in Boston. (MGM)
Director Luca Guadagnino on the set of “Challengers” in Boston. (MGM)

Luca Guadagnino (“Call Me by Your Name”) directs from a script by playwright and novelist Justin Kuritzkes, making his feature film debut.

Scenes for “Challengers” were shot in the Back Bay and East Boston from April through June of 2022.  

Zendaya is Tashi Duncan, a once-rising tennis star who gets busy on and off the court. A love triangle develops between her and fellow top-seeds Patrick (O’Connor) and Art (Faist.) Later, Tashi marries Art and coaches him through a losing streak that includes a match against a washed-up Patrick. Old rivalries die hard.

Zendaya in a scene from the shot-in-Boston movie "Challengers." (MGM)
Zendaya in a scene from the shot-in-Boston movie “Challengers.” (MGM)