Zendaya has already featured in two of the biggest entertainment franchises in recent years. She plays MJ, the love interest of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker / Spider-Man, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and stars as Chani in Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024). And now, if industry scoopers are to be believed, she might join one of the greatest fictional universes of all time, the Star Wars franchise.
Zendaya could join Lucasfilm’s Star Wars franchise after MCU
Industry scooper @MyTimeToShineH claimed in a recent post on X (formerly Twitter) that Zendaya is being eyed for a role in Star Wars. However, the scooper didn’t provide any information on which character that could be and instead asked the opinions of the other users on the matter. He wrote, “Zendaya is being considered for a role in Star Wars—who do you think she should play?”
Zendaya is one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially bankable actors active in the industry today. Accordingly, if these rumors are true, it makes sense for Disney to consider bringing the actress into one of their most prolific IPs. After all, they presumably had a positive experience while working with the Challengers (2024) star on the MCU projects and would probably want to cast her in more releases.
As a franchise, Star Wars debuted with A New Hope in 1977. The original trilogy, also comprising The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), was a massive success and created an astounding legacy that has extended to other mediums. However, in recent years, some of the entries in the franchise have left the fans wanting more, even if they were a critical or commercial hit. Notable exceptions to this are arguably projects like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, early seasons of The Mandalorian, and Andor. If the rumors indeed are true, Disney is probably looking to replicate the widespread success of these projects with an actress of Zendaya’s caliber.
Notably, multiple projects in the franchise are currently in development, including from filmmakers Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, James Mangold, Simon Kinberg, and Dave Filoni. It will be interesting to see which character Zendaya, if she does join the franchise, ends up playing.
Originally reported by Tamal Kundu on SuperHeroHype.
