They’ve been close friends since they started working on the first Dune film in 2019.
So, it felt ‘weird as Һell’ for Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya to finally kiss on camera for the highly anticipated Dune: Part Two, set to Һit theaters on March 1.
The 28-year-old Call Me By Your Nаme star and the 27-year-old Euphoria actress discussed the awkwardness of playing romantic leads despite their strong platonic friendship in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
The co-stars, promoting their upcoming sci-fi epic in Mexico City on Monday, also faced the challenge of having other romantic partners. Zendaya is dating Spider-Man star Tom Holland, while Timothée has been romantically linked with Kylie Jenner.
‘It’s definitely strange,’ Zendaya said about their on-screen kiss. ‘I think both of us are just like, “All right. This is our job. OK, we’re going to do this.”‘
Timothée Chalamet admitted to ET that it was ‘weird as Һell’ to kiss his ‘platonic’ friend Zendaya in Dune: Part Two; seen together in April 2023 in Las Vegas.
In the film, he plays Paul Atreides, heir to the decimated House Atreides, who becomes a messianic figure to Chani (Zendaya), a member of the Fremen tribe on the desert world of Arrakis.
Timothée elaborated, saying the intimate scenes felt ‘weird as Һell’ because they are ‘so close, platonically.’
‘In the context of the movie, it’s totally what is happening, but I also feel like we are so tight now that it really is just like another day at work,’ he added.
The Little Womеn actor joked, ‘I don’t know what that says about the nature of our jobs, but it’s just another day of work.’
In Dune: Part Two, Paul Atreides, abandoned with his mother on Arrakis, seeks revеnge against the House Harkonnen, who have seized control of the planet’s valuable resources.
Zendaya, who was briefly introduced in the first film as Chani, will teach Paul how to survive in the harsh environment, leading her people in a rebellion against the galactic oppressors.
Zendaya praised director and co-writer Denis Villeneuve for navigating their intimate scenes while balancing the epic scope of Dune’s plot, ensuring the love story felt earned rather than tacked on.
‘In this specific love story, I think we’re so grateful to have Denis at the helm of this very special thing,’ she said. ‘He always found a way to carve out a sentimental, beautiful love story amidst the epicness of the Dune universe.’
Timothée has portrayed various romances in acclaimed films like Call Me By Your Nаme, Lady Bird, Little Womеn, and Bones And All, while Zendaya has explored high school dating in her Һit HBO show Euphoria. However, their characters’ romance in Dune posed unique challenges.
‘It was definitely something we were trying to understand, because you can’t be like, “What’s up, shawty?”‘ she joked about Dune’s futuristic setting.
‘You see, throughout the film, the moments between them. The things that are unsaid,’ Zendaya said of their characters’ budding romance. ‘The glances between characters — there’s so much said just with looks.’
Timothée echoed, ‘In the scope of the movie, it’s totally what is happening, but I also feel like we are so tight now that it really is just like another day at work,’ referring to their kissing and romance scenes.
Zendaya credited Villeneuve for ensuring their on-screen romance was ‘earned’ and not merely added for the sake of it.
They also faced the challenge of crafting a romance that made sense in Dune’s futuristic setting. ‘It was definitely something we were trying to understand, because you can’t be like, “What’s up, shawty?”‘ she joked.
The stars will be joined in Dune: Part Two by newcomers Austin Butler as the psychopathic Harkonnen heir Feyd-Rautha, and Florence Pugh as the galactic emperor’s daughter Princess Irulan, who will enter into a marriage of convenience with Paul.
Returning cast members include Rebecca Ferguson as Paul’s mother, Josh Brolin as a member of the Harkonnen clan, and Stellan Skarsgård as the Baron Harkonnen. Christopher Walken will also be introduced as the previously unseen Emperor Shaddam IV.