Zendaya Auditioned for “Descendants ”'Over and Over,' Former Disney Channel Exec Reveals: 'Really Wanted It'
"It ended up not going her way," Cornelia Frame told the 'Magical Rewind' podcast of the actress
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Zendaya pictured alongside a poster of 'Descendants'Zendaya took a shot at landing a part in Descendants not once, not twice, but "many times," according to a former Disney Channel executive.
Speaking on an episode of Will Friedle and Sabrina Bryan's Magical Rewind podcast, released Monday, July 29, Cornelia Frame — former Vice President of Casting and Talent Relations at the Disney Channel — revealed that the actress, 27, was set on being part of the franchise and auditioned multiple times.
“Zendaya did audition many times for Descendants, and that was a big deal,” she said. “It was a really big deal. She auditioned over and over and really wanted it. It just ended up not going her way.”
“Now that I think about it, I’m like, ‘Would Spider-Man have happened right at that same time?’ " Frame added. “Things happen for a reason, and you do often book this other thing that’s amazing when you don’t get something else.”
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Zendaya at the 'Prelude To The Olympics' at Fondation Louis Vuitton on July 25, 2024 in Paris, FranceRelated: Euphoria Season 3 Set to Start Filming in January 2025 as Zendaya and Other Main Cast Members Return
Frame went on to say that Zendaya, who has gone on to star in three Spider-Man films, “put so much effort and so much work into it, too. It’s just one of those things.”
Descendants premiered in 2015 and followed the teenage children of Disney villains, including Cruella de Vil, Maleficent, Jafar and the Evil Queen. A sequel was released in 2017, followed by a third installment in 2019.
Cast members included Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, China Anne McClain and the late Cameron Boyce.
A spinoff film titled Descendants: The Rise of Red premiered on Disney+ earlier this month.
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Descendants cast members Booboo Stewart as Jay, Dove Cameron as Mal, Sofia Carson as Evie and Cameron Boyce as CarlosNever miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Although Zendaya didn’t star in the show, she ended up playing the role of K.C Cooper in the Disney Channel series K.C. Undercover, which premiered the same year as Descendants and ran for two seasons. The Euphoria actress also made her film debut thanks to the Disney Channel, starring in the network's 2012 TV movie Frenemies alongside Bella Thorne.
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