Zendaya is one of the few “movie stars” of her generation in the sense that her name alone can get a movie financed and greenlit, and she has a proven box office track record. That being said, her most acclaimed and awarded work has been in television. She has never gotten much awards-season attention for her film work. Will that change in the next five months? I doubt she’ll have an awards campaign around The Odyssey, but what about The Drama? And she’s got another big movie coming out at the end of the year: Dune Part 3. Well, Variety had an interesting piece about Zendaya’s potential awards-season blitz.
Zendaya is “Dune’s” leading lady. Multiple sources tell Variety that Zendaya will campaign for Oscar consideration in the lead actress category for her role as Chani in “Dune: Part Three,” the final chapter of Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic. The move marks a shift from the first two films, where she was positioned in supporting actress.
Warner Bros. and representatives for Zendaya declined to comment.
The decision reflects Chani’s expanded role in the story. “Dune: Part Three” is set nearly two decades after Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) seized control of the Imperium. Now a ruthless emperor, Paul must face the consequences of his reign as old allies return, terrifying new threats emerge and betrayal lurks in every shadow. Haunted by visions of imperial collapse and the reappearance of his long-lost love, Paul is drawn into a sweeping conspiracy, with Chani at the heart of its unfolding mystery. As rebellion brews and enemies close in, Paul must confront the true cost of power and the fate of those he loves most. The film also stars Jason Momoa, Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Robert Pattinson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Charlotte Rampling and Isaach de Bankolé.
The film caps a stellar year for the 30-year-old multi-hyphenate, who could find herself in contention across multiple categories and films this season.
She kicked off 2026 starring as Emma Harwood, a literary editor who reveals shocking secrets, in the romantic dark comedy “The Drama” from writer-director Kristoffer Borgli. That performance, opposite Robert Pattinson, will also be submitted in lead.
She followed it with her turn as Athena in Christopher Nolan’s billion-dollar mythological adaptation “The Odyssey,” where she will vie for supporting actress recognition alongside co-stars Anne Hathaway, Samantha Morton and Charlize Theron.
She also reprised her role as MJ in Destin Daniel Cretton’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” another billion-dollar hit that now ranks among the highest-grossing films of all time.
Having seen The Drama, it was fine and she was fine in it, but I don’t think it will get much awards-season attention. Like… maybe some Golden Globe nominations, if they put it in the Comedy/Musical category. That’s about it for The Drama. I also think The Odyssey’s Oscar team will probably center a lot of time and money on Anne Hathaway, Matt Damon and Christopher Nolan. It will definitely be interesting to see the reaction to Dune 3 though. I loved the first two Dune movies and Zendaya is great in them, but we’ll see. I have a feeling that Timothee Chalamet will get some big nominations though.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Backgrid.
-
- LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 29: Zendaya at Spider-Man Brand New Day Premiere at ODEON Luxe Leicester Square on July 29, 2026 in London, England.,Image: 1119577704, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no , Credit line: Pupat Chenaksara/Avalon
-
- Robert Pattinson and Zendaya pose backstage during the live 98th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday, March 15, 2026.,Image: 1083385766, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Richard Harbaugh / The Academy/Avalon
-
- LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – MARCH 17: Zendaya (Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman) wearing a Vivienne Westwood dress (previously worn by her at the 2015 Oscars – 87th Annual Academy Awards) with Chopard jewelry (styled by Law Roach) and Robert Pattinson wearing Dior Men arrive at the Los Angeles Premiere Of A24’s ‘The Drama’ held at the DGA Theater Complex at The Directors Guild of America on March 17, 2026 in Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 1084422808, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Zendaya, Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman, Robert Pattinson, Credit line: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon
-
- Zendaya at the World Premiere of THE ODYSSEY at Odeon Leicester Square in London on Monday 6 July 2026,Image: 1114835613, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no , Credit line: James Shaw/Avalon
-
- MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, USA – JULY 14: Zendaya wearing Matieres Fecales Fall 2025 and Chopard jewelry, styled by Law Roach arrives at the New York Premiere Of Universal Pictures’ ‘The Odyssey’ held at AMC Lincoln Square 13 on July 14, 2026 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States.,Image: 1116667867, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no , Pictured: Zendaya , Credit line: Image Press Agency/Image Press Agency/Avalon
-
- New York, NY The Premiere of A24’s “The Drama” at Regal Union Square in New York City. Pictured: Zendaya BACKGRID USA 2 APRIL 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: BFA.com / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- New York, NY The Premiere of A24’s “The Drama” at Regal Union Square in New York City. Pictured: Zendaya BACKGRID USA 2 APRIL 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: BFA.com / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- Paris, FRANCE Zendaya attended “The Odyssey” event in Paris wearing a white Givenchy dress from 1997 paired with a gold headpiece designed by Alexander McQueen. Pictured: Zendaya BACKGRID USA 7 JULY 2026 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- Paris, FRANCE Celebrities arrive for the Louis Vuitton Womenswear Spring Summer 2027 show during Paris Fashion Week. Pictured: Zendaya BACKGRID USA 7 OCTOBER 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: DPTIG / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- Photocall for ‘The Odyssey’ at the IET Building Featuring: Zendaya Where: London, United Kingdom When: 05 Jul 2026 Credit: Jordan PettittPA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- Charlize Theron, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, Samantha Morton, and Mia Goth attending the Odyssey world premiere in Leicester Square, central London Featuring: Charlize Theron, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, Samantha Morton, Mia Goth Where: London, United Kingdom When: 06 Jul 2026 Credit: Ian West/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
7 Responses to “Zendaya is positioning herself in lead-actress awards categories for ‘Dune 3’”
I’d be happy to see Z get a nom for Dune. It might be Julianne’s year though. Would love to see John Leguizamo get a supporting nom for the odyssey as well.
I am so excited for Dune 3 since this will be the last one with the main cast. Just give them all the awards please.
I haven’t seen the second one, so I guess I better catch up, lol (I liked the first one but I also saw it with my dad who quoted the whole thing and was distracting lol. No he hadn’t seen it before, he just read the book once 40 years ago….)
I’m not sure about her being a movie star that gets movies greenlit etc. I think she does to a certain extent, but also, her box office smashes are usually from existing IP or something that people were going to see anyway (Dune, Spider Man, Odyssey.) Challengers and the Drama both made around 14-15 million opening weekend – which isn’t nothing but also isn’t breaking any records. Decent numbers but not “she can open any kind of movie and have it be a huge success” kind of numbers. I think of her more as someone known for her fashion and red carpet appearances than her movie roles, to be honest.
But maybe that will change.
She’s selective with her choices, but she has starred in two independent films that have done well, The Drama and Challengers. They both made net revenue after costs. I think she has savvy agents who are spreading out her portfolio.
Twenty years of Marvel films have just lifted the bar of what most people expect as normal for film revenue. A lot of these movies would have a lot more profit if they weren’t spending $50-60 million to make films that really should have budgets closer to <$20 million. Too many people at the top are skimming off the revenue to have more sensible production costs.
Obviously the movie isn’t out yet but I can’t see this happening. She’s excellent in Euphoria but she kind of pouts her way through the first two Dune movies. The cinematography and music are phenomenal but I highly doubt anyone from Dune will be collecting acting awards.
I’m glad her role will be expanded, but I suspect her character will “make up” with Paul in part 3. And after seeing her great performance at the end of part 2, I wish that doesn’t happen. I get that she needs to have Paul’s offspring, but if they wrote the story such that she was already pregnant at the end of part 2, a reconciliation doesn’t have to happen. But I know I’m gonna love part 3 no matter what, based on the quality of the first two parts.
I love zendaya, she is lovely. But in big movies, she has mostly bit parts, but she get a lot of attention because of her red carpet style. She was the most talked person of the cast during the first dune and the odyssey and she was in it, like 5min lol. She is an ok actress, for me the best performance in dune was rebecca ferguson. In the odyssey, samantha norton etc..
Leave a comment after you have read the article