Zendaya Goes Lead in ‘Dune: Part Three' Oscar Campaign

Well, this is a curveball.

According to Variety, Zendaya will campaign in Best Actress for her turn as Chani in "Dune: Part Three," Denis Villeneuve's final chapter of the saga. That's notable. For the first two films, she was firmly placed in supporting, and the assumption heading into this season was that Warner Bros. would stick with that playbook, and there were even some wondering if Zendaya would be that much in the film at all.

First, anyone who has read Frank Herbert's "Dune Messiah" knows Chani isn't exactly the novel's center. This is Paul's tragedy, his reckoning. If Villeneuve has reshaped the material so that Chani carries the film alongside Timothée Chalamet, that's a significant creative choice, and today’s suggests that's exactly what he's done. Whether Herbert purists will forgive him for it is another matter.

That said, Best Actress is already looking crowded. Going lead in a December sci-fi spectacle is not the path of least resistance.

Still, you can see the logic. It's been a monster year for her. She had a small role in "The Odyssey," which made $1.7 billion, "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" grossed even more, “The Drama” became a sleeper hit, and "Dune: Part Three" could make it three films that cross the billion dollar mark. She's 30, she has two Emmys for "Euphoria,” a Golden Globe, and two more Globe nominations for "Challengers." What she doesn't have is an Oscar nomination.

We'll know more about ‘Dune 3’ once people actually see the film, which also stars Jason Momoa, Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Robert Pattinson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Charlotte Rampling and Isaach de Bankolé.

Warner Bros. releases it in theaters and IMAX on December 18 — press screenings are noted down for late November, and that’s probably when we’ll start to see if the film has met those sky-high expectations, or even exceeded them.