FL_Ag1998 said:

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CharleyKerfeld said:

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I've never figured out why people are so down on Zendaya.

I've seen her in 3 projects: Spiderman, Dune, and Greatest Showman, and thought was very good in all 3.

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I for one feels like she too often plays the standoffish, ambivalent, "everything is meh" character. Close to becoming a one-note typecast actor. To be fair, I haven't seen everything she's done. But yeah, unless she shows me a side of her as Athena that I've never seen before, then I think this will be an unfortunate miscasting.

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I'd agree with this; however, I only know her from the Tom Holland Spiderman movies and Dune. I think that standoffishness has more to do with the choice they made to take the Mary Jane character, and then the essence of Chani was pretty cautious/standoffish anyway.

Regardless, I learned my lesson when I cussed the Pattinson casting in The Batman. I was 100% against that, but I was dead wrong.

I think Zendaya is pretty good in the Spider-Man movies, and is excellent in Dune, especially part 2. She communicates so much with her eyes in that movie.

If you haven't seen Challengers, its another role that I think she nails. I know lots of people love her in Euphoria, but I haven't seen that (and don't intend to).

But...I'd be curious to know what actress in thier 20s/early 30s you guys think is good? Like, cool you don't like Zendaya, but are their actresses you think are good and are being overlooked that you would rather see in this role?

veryfuller said:

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But...I'd be curious to know what actress in thier 20s/early 30s you guys think is good? Like, cool you don't like Zendaya, but are their actresses you think are good and are being overlooked that you would rather see in this role?

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So...she's the standard for young female actresses to compare against...? You're saying that there aren't better options to choose from? Because if you are, that's pretty sad and a bit depressing. If she's the high point to go off of, then I guess that we should just take what we should get...

This is like saying that since our kicker is ****, but he's the best that we have then that's acceptable and we should settle and not strive for anyone better. But if you don't name someone better, then clearly it's who we should be happy with.

And yes, I think she's just not a good actress, at least in roles other than the same mopey and emo character she seems to excel at.

It's fine to think she's terrible, but like who do you think is good?

Your analogy doesn't work because this isn't like kicking a field goal. It's a performance. If it doesn't work for you, that's fine but like, what's an example of a performance that DOES work for you? Otherwise, what are you comparing her to?

Say what you will about Zendaya, but her upcoming April 2026 to June 2027 slate might very well be one of the greatest year+ runs ever...

- The Drama
- Dune: Part Three
- Euphoria (Season 3)
- The Odyssey
- Shrek 5
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day

... co-starring opposite Robert Pattinson twice (The Drama and Dune: Part Three), Timothee Chalamet, and Tom Holland, while working with both Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve, and then headlining the most popular Gen Z show on TV. Sure, she might lean on the tough/stoic/pissed thing too much, but she's damn good at it, and whatever she's doing, most people seem to respond well to it and it keeps getting her incredibly high-profile work.

veryfuller said:

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It's fine to think she's terrible, but like who do you think is good?

Your analogy doesn't work because this isn't like kicking a field goal. It's a performance. If it doesn't work for you, that's fine but like, what's an example of a performance that DOES work for you? Otherwise, what are you comparing her to?

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As has been stated already by another poster, I don't know names or specifics for other young actresses in modern film. I do know Zendaya. But that's because I see her name plastered everywhere, and is also more reinforced because she just isn't an impressive actress and I simply can't understand her appeal. Sometimes knowing someone's name isn't a good thing.

If she is the baseline and standard for young actresses to be compared to then I guess it's the best we can get, and we should be happy we got such a phenom compared to all the rest. Otherwise we'd really be slumming it.

And yes, I'm being a bit snarky, but it's just funny to me that just because people can't think of someone better doesnt mean that she's good for this role. If there's none better, then so be it. But that's pretty depressing and pretty sad for the state of young female actresses out right now. And quite telling.

Also, the analogy is more in line with accepting mediocrity because we choose to be happy with who we have instead of looking for, and demanding, a better option. We convinced ourselves that the turd we've polished is better than what anyone else has. Maybe options right now are all bad compared to what was around previously, but somehow other teams have good kickers...

Maybe it's a stupid analogy, and it probably is seeing as how I'm just not very creative, but it's the best I can think of after a couple glasses of wine. Sorry, not sorry.

You don't have to agree, just as myself and others can be skeptical. Regardless, some of us just aren't thrilled by her selection. And as has also been mentioned, maybe she'll prove people wrong and actually break out of her current limitations in skillset to blow the role away. I sincerely hope so, im just not holding my breath. She's about as one dimensional as you can get (think stathum level), but maybe it's an unfair assessment. Even so, personally, im hoping she knocks it out of the park, regardless of how unlikely that seems to be based on what she's shown thus far.

Fingers crossed. Ill gladly eat crow.

I'm probably in the minority here, but after being in so many spoofy things, I find it hard to take Matt Damon seriously.

I'm not claiming she is the baseline. I'm asking what your baseline is.

I just said her performances have worked for me so I'm good with the casting and am asking who you'd rather see. Instead of answering that you just turn it back on me as if me asking the question is somehow akin to celebrating mediocrity or something.

veryfuller said:

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I'm not claiming she is the baseline. I'm asking what your baseline is.

I just said her performances have worked for me so I'm good with the casting and am asking who you'd rather see. Instead of answering that you just turn it back on me as if me asking the question is somehow akin to celebrating mediocrity or something.

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Thats fair. We're arguing from opposite starting points.

Im hoping for better based on her current body of work. You like what you already have and feel people who are critical are wanting too much, or aren't being realistic. Either works based on perspective.

That said, ill accept what's given at this point, as what other choice do we have? We have no say in things, and that's clearly for the best. Plus, the guy in charge is pretty damn good and has proven himself time and again, so it's probably safer to give it a fair chance without being too critical before the product is even in the wild.


ETA: not sure how the winky face was put in there, I honestly am not trying to be making fun or being as big an ass as usual

I feel like she's one of those actors who gets hot off a couple of things, but then continues being hot only because casting directors cast her due to her being hot. In essence, she's lucked into a perpetual cycle of being the "hot/it actress" only because we are being told that she's the "hot/it actress".

IMO, she hasn't earned this amount of heat from continued amazing performances. She just has a great PR team.

I have to partially disagree. IMO, she's incredible in Euphoria, not to mention she's won the Emmy for Lead Actress in a Drama Series twice in two seasons for that role. Yes, it's a loud, mopey, in-your-face performance, but it's incredible acting nonetheless. That said, I'll agree that maybe she's a bit too try-hard-tough for Dune: Part Two. I think someone like Chase Infinity (One Battle After Another), with close to the same intensity but a bit more vulnerability, probably could have garnered more empathy as a character. That said, for parts like that it's not always who's best for the role, Unfortunately, it's also who has the most Instagram followers and who can put more butts in seats.

That's interesting in itself. Different era for movies nowadays.. where the movies themselves are almost vessels for content for these people online on their own profiles.

With 70mm IMAX showings of One Battle After Another and Sinners starting this afternoon/evening, I expect bootleg, theater-cam copies of The Odyssey prologue to start dropping any hour now. I'll post any that I come across, but they're likely going to get taken down pretty fast. I realize they'll be terrible quality, but this has become a Nolan tradition, and one that I kind of love - being wowed by even the crap-quality versions, then a few days later getting to truly witness every detail in glorious IMAX. That said, anyone who happens to see One Battle After Another and Sinners in 70mm IMAX this weekend and catches the prologue in person, I would love to hear your thoughts. Otherwise, I'll be seeing it properly myself a week from today in IMAX with Avatar: Fire and Ash.

Waiting till I get home to watch, but here's what's popping up so far. Get it while it's hot...

The Odyssey Prologue just got LEAKED!!
CHRISTOPHER NOLAN really COOKED this time ngl 🔥#TheOdyssey #ChristopherNolan pic.twitter.com/u4EEXlafXu

— Rob (@robh2844) December 12, 2025

#TheOdyssey prologue. Movie of the century by King Christopher Nolan!! pic.twitter.com/47pzJU2kC8

— STOIC 🇸🇧🇸🇯⚔️🗡️ (@GunhaonKaDevta) December 12, 2025

Here is the prologue of The Odyssey
Good Watch pic.twitter.com/jkQ2BxXLlg

— Germa Nathan (@nathan_ga19) December 12, 2025

THE ODYSSEY prologue.

Enjoy.

DEFY THE GODS. pic.twitter.com/AOVby51xR8

— Art Hits Hard (@nightwriter22) December 12, 2025

Meh? Very oddly paced sequence.

Just FYI, not all of Nolan's prologues are exactly the first five-to-six minutes of their respective movies. This one looks to be more like the Dunkirk "prologue" in that it's almost assuredly an edited down sequence from the movie, made to fit into five-to-six minutes, followed by a quick montage of shots from the rest of the movie.

As shown, the opening of the movie will be the sacking of Troy, except from the point of view of Jon Bernthal's Menelaus, who is recounting the story, in the first person, to Tom Holland's Telemachus. I'm confident Nolan will better set this up in the movie itself, and then show a slightly more extended version of what we see here. If I had to guess, this is, like, the trailer-friendly, in medias res version.

Regardless, I think the visuals are awesome, I already love our first listen of Ludwig Göransson's score, and the intensity is there for sure. That super-quick shot of the Cyclops looked creepier than I imaged too, and I can't wait to get a better look in IMAX next week.

Man, this thing is going to be massive.

Now bring on the trailer!