Zendaya auditioned for “Descendants” but it 'ended up not going her way,' former Disney Channel casting boss says
"Things happen for a reason and you do often book this other thing that’s amazing when you don’t get something else."
Zendaya very nearly found herself in Auradon.
The Euphoria actress auditioned multiple times to join the cast of Disney Channel’s Descendants franchise, the network’s former Vice President of Casting and Talent Relations Cornelia Frame has revealed.
“Zendaya did audition many times for Descendants, and that was a big deal,” Frame revealed on the Magical Rewind podcast. “It was a really big deal that she auditioned over and over. She really wanted it and it just ended up not going her way.”
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
Dominique Charriau/WireImage; Eike Schroter/Disney Channel via Getty Images
Zendaya; the cast of 'Descendants'Related: Why Zendaya is nervous for audiences to see her in Challengers: 'I wish I was joking'
Directed by Kenny Ortega, Descendants starred Dove Cameron, Cameron Boyce, Sofia Carson, and Booboo Stewart as the children of Disney villains who embark on a quest to free their parents from their island prison by stealing the Fairy Godmother’s magical wand. The film aired on the network in June 2015 — just months after Zendaya, who got her start on the network's Shake It Up, premiered her headlining Disney Channel series, K.C. Undercover.
But when one door closes, another opens. “Now that I think about it, I’m like, ‘Would Spider-Man have happened right at that same time?’” Frame questioned. “Because it really is true: things happen for a reason, and you do often book this other thing that’s amazing when you don’t get something else.”
She added, “But Zendaya definitely put so much effort and so much work into it too. it’s just one of those things. You understand when people want these roles how important it is.”
Zendaya joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Michelle Jones-Watson, a.k.a. MJ, in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming opposite Tom Holland and Jacob Batalon. She would go onto reprise the role in 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home, and 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home.
In the years since being on the Disney Channel, Zendaya has had turns in Denis Villeneuve's epic Dune films, transformed into a tennis phenom for Luca Guadagnino's Challengers, and won two Emmys for her performance as Rue in Sam Levinson's Euphoria.
The Descendants franchise is still going strong too, with its latest installment, Descendants: The Rise of Red, being released last month.
Listen to Frame discuss Zendaya's audition in the podcast above.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.
