- Zendaya admires Coogler’s work and feels a connection to him as a fellow Oakland native.
- Zendaya’s upcoming projects, including The Drama, Euphoria, and Dune, will keep her occupied for the next year.
- Zendaya hopes her fans don’t get tired of her constant presence on screen and plans to take a break after her busy 2023 schedule.
Despite having so many projects in the works, there’s still one director Zendaya hasn’t had the chance to work with, her Oakland “cousin,” Ryan Coogler.
Ahead of the release of her latest film, The Drama, Zendaya stopped by The Jennifer Hudson Show to continue her press tour. During her time on the couch, Jennifer Hudson asked if there are any directors she really wants to work with—a question Zendaya had an immediate answer for.
“I would love to work with Ryan Coogler,” Zendaya said, noting that she and Coogler were born in Oakland, Calif.
“For years I’ve felt this way, since Fruitvale Station, because I thought that was such a beautiful and powerful film,” the actress continued, referring to Coogler’s 2013 film starring Michael B. Jordan.
The biographical drama is based on the events leading to the death of a young man in 2009, who was killed by a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer.
“I remember when that happened, and so he means so much to the world, but he also means so much to us,” Z continued. “I always joke, I’m like, ‘I know I don’t know you, but I feel like you’re my cousin.’ He sounds like my family. His accent is so strong, and so Oakland, and he just makes beautiful work.”
Unfortunately for fans, it doesn’t seem like a collaboration between these two will happen anytime soon, as Zendaya recently mentioned wanting to take a break after her stacked 2026. In the next eight months, the former Disney Channel star will appear in The Drama, Euphoria Season 3, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, The Odyssey, and Dune: Part Three.
“I just hope people don’t get sick of me, and I really appreciate everyone who supports any of the movies [and] supports my career in any kind of way. I’m deeply appreciative,” she said in an interview with Fandango earlier this week. “I just hope you guys don’t get sick of me this year because I’ll tell you what—I’m disappearing for a little bit. I’m going to have to go into hiding for just a little bit.”
Despite such a busy schedule, Zendaya has still been slaying every single red carpet she steps foot on. At the New York premiere of The Drama on Thursday, April 2, the actress finished off her ongoing nod to the traditional wedding rhyme—”Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue”—with an electric blue Schiaparelli Haute Couture gown.
Zendaya’s latest look has blue and black feathers covering a sculptural strapless bodice and tiered drop-waist skirt, which she paired with bird-inspired pumps. A24, the film studio behind The Drama, tweeted out a photo of Zendaya’s premiere looks in accordance with the Victorian-era rhyme.
