An original, sexually charged drama that’s geared towards adults, led by promising young actors, and directed by a filmmaker who’s proven ever more fascinating with each new endeavor? “Challengers” is precisely the type of flick we movie aficionados have been begging studios to make more of for years … which also means it will need all the help it can get at the box office. Luckily, that’s one way in which the movie should actually benefit from being postponed from its original release date in 2023. It’s now facing far lighter competition than it would have in its previous slot — and with audiences increasingly showing signs of franchise fatigue lately, that might just be enough to prevent “Challengers” from flying under the radar.
Guadagnino is directing “Challengers” from a script by Justin Kuritzkes, who is also penning the director’s next project — a film adaptation of the William S. Burroughs novel “Queer” starring Daniel Craig — and is married to “Past Lives” filmmaker Celine Song (talk about an artistic power couple!). We’ll see what he and Guadagnino have come up with when “Challengers” hits theaters on April 26, 2024.