Warning: Minor Challengers spoilers ahead. Proceed with caution.
Zendaya’s latest movie Challengers is earning great reviews from critics, with general audiences also loving the tennis drama for being a fun and steamy romp. Great performances from Dune star Josh O’Connor and West Side Story’s Mike Faist (not to mention Zendaya) help bring to life the sleek script's memorable dialogue, and we have a likely addition to the ranks of best tennis movies.
One stand-out line referring to a certainly friendly neighborhood Spider-Man has the internet talking, and director Luca Guadagnino has now revealed how that particular line ended up in the final cut, and whether or not it was an intentional nod to some of Zendaya’s best films.
The Spider-Verse Line In Challengers
In Challengers, Zendaya plays Tashi Duncan, a tennis champion that is forced into early retirement due to a career-ending injury. She then turns her focus to Art, another promising tennis player at her college played by Mike Faist. Tashi marries Art after becoming his tennis coach and they have a daughter together named Lily. Towards the beginning of the film, Tashi asks her daughter what she would like to watch in the hotel, suggesting they watch Spider-Verse when Lily complains about watching tennis.
The line perked up the ears of many Zendaya fans. While Zendaya doesn’t make an appearance in that chapter of the webby hero's big screen adventures, the Spider-Man reference felt like a winking reference to Zendaya’s work in the MCU Spider-Man films as Mary Jane. Several fans took to social media with their reactions to the line, such as the one below:
me when they referenced Spider-Man #Challengers pic.twitter.com/RdauxdHa4DApril 26, 2024
Another fan who commented on X similarly felt that the Spider-Man reference had to be a purposeful nod after noticing it.
I see what you did there, Challengers. Sneaking in some Spider-Man reference👀🎾🕸️April 27, 2024
The name-drop was so specific that it felt like it had to be some kind of fun Zendaya-related nod. However, it turns out that that may have not been as intentional as some would suspect, especially when it comes to the actual process of getting other movie references in films.
How The Spider-Verse Line Ended Up In Challengers
In a recent interview, Challengers director Luca Guadagnino revealed that the Spider-Verse selection was pretty arbitrary. They wanted to make a movie reference that would make contextual sense for a child, while also getting it cleared by the studio. To make this as smooth as possible, Guadagnino chose a film that was in producer Amy Pascal’s filmography, and Spider-Verse just happened to be the most appropriate. He explained to EW:
Amy Pascal, our amazing producer, was of help there. I said, 'Amy, can we use one of your catalog titles so it's going to be easier to clear them?' [Lily]'s a girl; she's not going to choose to watch The Social Network or The Post, but maybe she's going to watch a Spider-Man cartoon, so I said, 'Why not Spider-Verse?'
Apparently, it took the Call Me By Your Name filmmaker a while to make the Zendaya/Spider-Man connection himself. When he decided on Spider-Verse for the line, he legitimately didn’t realize that he was making something of an in-joke by nodding to his leading lady’s Marvel contributions. He said:
Now I realize that it sounded like an in-joke, which, you know, the unconscious guides us all the time.
Even if it wasn’t intentional, it’s still a great reference for the most ardent Zendaya fans to pick up on. The movie star is connected to so many high-profile projects, that being caught in her web, no pun intended, is almost inevitable. It certainly doesn’t distract from the rest of the film, or the incredible Zendaya performance throughout, so it remains a fun accidental easter-egg acknowledging the prolific movie star career of its lead.
You can see Zendaya in Challengers now, as the movie is currently playing in cinemas nationwide. It is one of the best-reviewed films on the 2024 movie release schedule, so check it out on the big screen while you can. In addition, superhero fans can revisit the actress in the MCU Spider-Man movies, which are all streaming with a Disney+ subscription.
