Zendaya is a wildly successful A-list actress, who has had a truly insane year. She starred in Euphoria Season 3 (which is streaming with a HBO Max subscription), and also had a whopping four feature films release in 2026. The Emmy-winning star previously said she'd be taking a break from acting after such a crazy year, but she's already signed on for another upcoming A24 movie. Let's break it all down.
2026 has been very busy for Zendaya, with roles in huge movies like The Odyssey, the record-breaking Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and the highly anticipated Dune: Part Three. She spoke to Fandango back in March and said she'd be taking a break because folks are "sick" of her, but not so fast. Deadline reports that she's signed on to an A24 sci-fi movie from filmmaker Alex Garland. Perhaps she's not going to be stepping away from the public eye after all.
This developing movie doesn't haven an official title yet, and the plot is being kept under wraps. But it'll reportedly shoot next year, so it sounds like Zendaya's not exactly taking a break. She previously worked with A24 on both Euphoria and The Drama.
I don't blame Zendaya for wanting to step back a bit after this insane year. Promoting movies is often a long and grueling process, and that's something she'll have gone through four times before the year ends. Since The Odyssey, Spider-Man, and Dune are especially huge releases, she must have been on the road for a very long time altogether. That's not even counting the release of Euphoria's final season, which earned her another Emmy nomination. She's also presumably been recording her voice role in Shrek 5, which is set to be released next year.
My head is spinning just thinking about what her calendar must look like. Add in the fact that she has to work with image architect Law Roach to plan looks for all the premieres and public appearances, and it's all very dizzying. She's managed to crush it all year, but that doesn't mean it wasn't exhausting.
What Zendaya Previously Said About Her Break
As previously mentioned, Zendaya spoke to Fandango about wanting to take a break in the midst of promoting The Drama back in March. That was before the craziness of her other giant global blockbusters, so I'd assume she'd want one more than ever nowadays. She was quoted then sayin the following:
I guess, you know, I just hope people don't get sick of me. I really appreciate everyone who supports any of the movies or who supports my career in any kind of way. I'm deeply appreciative, and like I said, I just hope you guys don't get sick of me this year because I'll tell you what: after this, I'm disappearing for a little bit. I'm going to have to go into hiding for just a little bit.
I definitely wouldn't fault her for wanting to take a step back, especially because she and Tom Holland are newlyweds. Luckily they both had roles in Spider-Man and The Odyssey, so they were able to do their promotional tours together. Still, it's a unique way to spend your first year as a married couple together.
Zendaya's crazy year will come to an end when Dune: Part Three hits theaters on December 18th as part of the 2026 movie release list. We'll just have to see if she signs on for even more movie gigs after the Alex Garland A24 flick.
