Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O’Connor work up a sweat in Challengers trailer

All of Luca Guadagnino’s films have a certain sensuality, but Challengers (premiering September 15, 2023) is outright sexy. We know because the new trailer for the R-rated tennis feature is set to Rihanna’s “S&M.” Plus there’s Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O’Connor, getting steamy and looking gorgeous. Have you seen O’Connor’s ears?

According to the film’s official logline, “Tennis player turned coach Tashi (Zendaya) has taken her husband, Art (Faist), and transformed him into a world-famous grand slam champion. To jolt him out of his recent losing streak, she makes him play a ‘Challenger’ event—close to the lowest level of pro tournament—where he finds himself standing across the net from his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend (Josh O’Connor).” The movie is told in multiple timelines, occurring before and after Tashi tears her ACL and upends her career.

The trailer really is delicious, not just because young Tashi, on top of her game, finds herself in a late-night ménage à trois with two gorgeous young tennis players. (But that’s part of it, obviously; seeing Zendaya in a starring role being directed by one of our great auteurs is its own pleasure.) There’s also some incredible dialogue, like O’Connor telling Faist that “It’s nice to see you lit up about something, even if it’s my girlfriend,” or Zendaya sneering, “I’m taking such good care of my little white boys.”

The script comes from up-and-comer Justin Kuritzkes, “and he will win an Oscar for it,” Guadagnino told Fantastic Man magazine last year. “I am convinced.” In the same interview, the filmmaker praised O’Connor for the fact that he “owns his body and uses it in a really unabashed way. And I love his ears. I wish I could kiss his ears.” (Guadagnino then “immediately” FaceTimed O’Connor “to tell him that he wants to kiss his ears,” per the magazine.)

Challengers is Guadagnino’s first studio film. “I feel very welcomed by Hollywood, which is interesting. But I’m still an outsider, which is great,” he shared with Fantastic Man. “It’s a totally different thing, working for a studio and not being my own producer. It’s a great experience.” Challengers looks like it’s going to be a great experience for all of us!