Zendaya shares that part of her career ambition is to direct, and specifically, to create a love story between two Black girls. There is no denying Zendaya is the face of a generation. She has been a force in the entertainment industry for some time with her career starting on the Disney Channel with Shake It Up, which was accompanied by a short-lived music career. She had many other roles with Disney and was cast on Netflix’s The OA before her acting career was taken to new heights when she was cast in Spider-Man: Homecoming as MJ, a role she has seen through two more films. In the same year as Spider-Man: Homecoming, Zendaya also starred in HBO’s smash hit Euphoria, where her acting was praised by critics and fans. Both projects catapulted her into stardom and the HBO series landed her a historic Emmy win.
Outside of the MCU, Zendaya has earned major roles in films such as The Greatest Showman alongside Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron. More recently she was booked with the press tour ahead of her role in the Dune franchise, despite having a relatively small role in the first film, and as a voice of Lola Bunny in the Space Jam reboot. Zendaya has also found herself a fashion icon after recently winning the Fashion Icon of the Year Award at the 2021 CFDAs. In addition to her contributions to pop culture, Zendaya is also a fierce activist for social issues such as women’s rights and racial equality. She’s a beloved figure in Hollywood and seems to use her platform for good.
Zendaya shared that a tangential goal of hers is to get behind the camera and direct when she talked with Euphoria co-star Colman Domingo for Interview. While working on a project, Zendaya says she spends more time on set trying to learn from the "real vets in the game." The reason Zendaya is interested in directing is to "do the things that make me happy and bring me joy and fulfill me as an artist, as a person." From the conversation, Zendaya wants to, specifically, make a "love story about two Black girls." Read Zendaya’s full comment below.
“I don’t necessarily have a plan. I’ve never really thought, ‘I have to do this by this time and I want to do this by that time.’ I just want to do the things that make me happy and bring me joy and fulfill me as an artist, as a person. So, I keep that loose, because if one day it turns into a completely different career path, then I would allow myself to do that. The idea of trying to direct in the future excites me. That’s why I’m on set so much. When I’m not in it, I’m right there trying to learn. I go around and I ask our crew , ‘What are you doing today? Can you explain it to me?’ Because we’ve got some real vets in the game. So, the hope is that I’ll be able to, one day, make the things that I want to see.”
Zendaya further explains the film would be rooted explicitly in the love story, electing to move away from the traumatic elements often seen in young adult films with LGBTQ subjects, like the public outing of Love, Simon. The project would be "something simple and beautiful, that leaves you happy and wanting to fall in love yourself." The project would be a coming-of-age story that includes the humor and awkwardness of adolescence that Zendaya says she hasn’t seen any depictions of in film or TV.
Zendaya continues to prove to be an impressive individual who understands her position in the entertainment industry. Her fans are dedicated and continue to show intense and iration for her. Her aspiration for a project that would include diversity and a story that not only aligns with what she wants to see in media, but what many younger audiences want to see in media. In a time when directors are blaming their audience for poor box office numbers, remaining in touch with who the audience is and what they want is incredibly important. Zendaya seems to have a solid grasp on who she is as an artist, and her ambition to create media she wants to see will definitely benefit others who were missed in media before.
Source: Interview Magazine
