No. Zendaya isn’t the reason Euphoria’s third season is in limbo.
In an interview for Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issue published on November 13, the Emmy winner revealed her stance with Euphoria amid reports of contention between her and creator Sam Levinson.
“I will say, I have been off for a couple years, so not delayed because of my [schedule]. … I’ve been open, just waiting,” Zendaya clarified with a laugh.
She also pointed out that while her two major films, “Dune: Part Two” and “Challengers,” premiered this year, she filmed both in 2022.
“I’m actually going to start filming a project soon before Euphoria, and I’m like, Man, I’m rusty,” she admitted. “I haven’t been on a set in, like, two years almost. I’m a little bit terrified. I’m like, Can I even do this anymore?”
She continued, “To be fair, I get that feeling every time I start a new project. On the first day, you’re like, I was terrible. I was shit… And when the director says, ‘You did a great job,’ you’re like, ‘You’re lying. You’re actually lying to me.’ But that’s just part of, again, the Virgo self-criticism.”
Zendaya, 28, confirmed season 3 is still “slated” to start filming again in January 2025, but she “don’t really have much of an answer except for right now it’s set to start shooting in January.
“I haven’t read anything yet, but I’m excited to see what everyone has been working on, and what the future looks like for Euphoria,” she told the magazine, assuring fans that her main priority is to “do justice by the people who love and care about Rue.”
“I think that’s my number one duty,” she concluded.
Zendaya’s comments come less than four months after The Hollywood Reporter released a bombshell story about Euphoria’s uncertain future.
According to the outlet, a source close to the show’s creator, Sam Levinson, suggested that Zendaya was the reason for the delay, claiming she’d been “dragging her feet with an eye toward a burgeoning film career.”
“It was all about [Zendaya]. Everybody wanted to make it about Sam, but it was her,” the source alleged.
The article also noted that Zendaya’s once-close relationship with the controversial showrunner, 39, had “cooled,” reportedly fueling Levinson’s “resentment” toward her.
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Euphoria first premiered in June 2019 to critical acclaim, but fans have been waiting since February 2022 for new episodes.
Several factors contributed to the delays, including the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes, the cast’s expanding schedules, and creator Sam Levinson’s desire to write the season himself.
HBO confirmed in July that production on Season 3 would finally begin in early 2025, with a time jump in the storyline, marking Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, and Sydney Sweeney’s transition from high school students.
However, sources have suggested that Season 3 might also be the show’s last, with the network being “keen on going out with a bang.”
