{"id":107672,"date":"2026-10-15T16:42:36","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T20:42:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theinformant.com\/?p=107672"},"modified":"2026-10-15T16:42:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T20:42:38","slug":"zendaya-adds-alex-garland-sci-fi-as-her-a24-awards-path-expands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theinformant.com\/?p=107672","title":{"rendered":"ZENDAYA ADDS ALEX GARLAND SCI-FI AS HER A24 AWARDS PATH EXPANDS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Zendaya said earlier this year that after an unusually packed 2026 she planned to disappear for a while. That break may not last long. A24 confirmed on <strong>October 15, 2026<\/strong>, that the actress will star in a new, still-untitled science-fiction film written and directed by Alex Garland, with filming scheduled for 2027. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Almost everything else about the project remains secret. A24 has not released a synopsis, supporting cast or release date. What is known is the creative pairing: Zendaya with a filmmaker whose work has repeatedly pushed science fiction toward psychological, political and philosophical territory rather than conventional blockbuster spectacle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Garland also brings legitimate awards credentials. His directorial debut, <em>Ex Machina<\/em>, earned two Academy Award nominations, winning Visual Effects while Garland himself was nominated for Original Screenplay. That history does not make the new Zendaya film an automatic Oscar vehicle, but it shows that genre filmmaking under Garland can break through with Academy voters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The potentially stronger acting showcase, however, may be another A24 project already attached to Zendaya: <em><strong>Be My Baby<\/strong><\/em>. Barry Jenkins is set to direct her as Ronnie Spector, the unmistakable voice behind The Ronettes. The project has been developing for years, and Spector herself personally selected Zendaya to portray her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jenkins has a particularly strong Academy track record. <em>Moonlight<\/em> won Best Picture, Mahershala Ali won Supporting Actor under his direction, and Jenkins won Adapted Screenplay. Regina King later won Supporting Actress for Jenkins\u2019 <em>If Beale Street Could Talk<\/em>. Those results make <em>Be My Baby<\/em> an obvious project to watch once production and release timing become firm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is also an established awards appetite for actors portraying celebrated musicians. But that pattern is not a guarantee: the performance, screenplay, release strategy and reception ultimately matter more than the biopic label itself. In Zendaya\u2019s case, playing Spector could offer material quite different from her franchise roles \u2014 music, fame, abuse, survival and the complicated power dynamics surrounding one of pop\u2019s most recognizable voices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Zendaya is already present in the current awards conversation. Christopher Nolan\u2019s <em>The Odyssey<\/em> remains among the leading Best Picture contenders for the 2027 Oscars, while <em>Dune: Part Three<\/em> continues to appear high in early Best Picture predictions ahead of its December 18 release. Gold Derby also currently places Zendaya among the leading Golden Globe actress contenders for <em>The Drama<\/em>. These are forecasts, not nominations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new Garland film therefore matters less because it guarantees another awards campaign and more because of the career pattern it reveals. After a year dominated by giant franchises and major studio releases, Zendaya is continuing to pair commercial scale with filmmaker-driven A24 projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whether either collaboration eventually produces her first Academy Award remains unknowable. But with Garland on one side and Jenkins plus Ronnie Spector on the other, Zendaya has lined up two projects capable of testing her in very different directions \u2014 and both will attract close attention once cameras begin rolling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Zendaya said earlier this year that after an unusually packed 2026 she planned to disappear for a while. That break may not last long. A24 confirmed on October 15, 2026, that the actress will star in a new, still-untitled science-fiction film written and directed by Alex Garland, with filming scheduled for 2027. Almost everything else [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":107673,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4812],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>ZENDAYA ADDS ALEX GARLAND SCI-FI AS HER A24 AWARDS PATH EXPANDS - The Informant<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theinformant.com\/?p=107672\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ZENDAYA ADDS ALEX GARLAND SCI-FI AS HER A24 AWARDS PATH EXPANDS - The Informant\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Zendaya said earlier this year that after an unusually packed 2026 she planned to disappear for a while. 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