Hot off a blockbuster 2026 between three hit movies, soon a fourth, plus an Emmy nomination, Zendaya has lined up her next acting project.
Details are under wraps, but the 30-year-old “Euphoria” and “Challengers” actor will next star in a new science-fiction film from writer/director Alex Garland at A24, as the company announced on Thursday. The project will mark the British filmmaker’s fifth collaboration with A24, which distributed his debut directing effort “Ex Machina,” along with “Men,” “Civil War,” and “Warfare” (co-directed with former U.S. Navy SEAL Ray Mendoza). Garland wrapped production on A24’s most expensive in-house film production yet, the adaptation of the hit video game “Elden Ring,” earlier this year. The film is set for release in March 2028.
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Production on Garland’s new science-fiction film will begin sometime in 2027, according to A24. Garland’s work in the genre dates back to collaborations with director Danny Boyle, including the outer-space thriller “Sunshine.” His directing efforts, from the artificial-intelligence thriller “Ex Machina” to the cosmic-horror movie “Annihilation” at Paramount, tend to hover around science-fiction themes. “Civil War,” which set A24 box-office records in 2024, imagined a fictional near-future collapse of the United States with sci-fi elements. At that point, it was A24’s costliest in-house movie.
Back in 2024 circa “Civil War,” Garland told IndieWire he’d be stepping back from directing for the “foreseeable future,” before a slew of behind-the-camera projects followed.
Zendaya, meanwhile, starred in three acclaimed films this year that grossed nearly $4.5 billion combined at the global box office: “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” “The Odyssey,” and A24’s “The Drama.” She also scored a Best Actress in a Drama Series Emmy nomination for “Euphoria,” which ended its three-season run earlier this year. Next up, she stars in “Dune: Part Three,” which looks to crash the Oscar race when it opens on IMAX screens starting December 18.
A24 hit the $200 million global box office milestone this year with “Backrooms,” and has opened a raft of other hits, including “The Drama” and, most recently, Robert Pattinson-starrer “Primetime,” throughout 2026 to company-record-setting success. The studio ended up outpacing Warner Bros. at the summer box office.