Zendaya Auditioned Multiple Times for ‘Descendants,’ Says Former Disney Channel Exec: ‘She Really Wanted It,’ but It ‘Didn’t Go Her Way’.
Before Zendaya became famous for her roles in “Dune: Part Two” and Marvel’s “Spider-Man” movies, she was a teen star on Disney Channel’s “Shake It Up” and “K.C. Undercover.” According to a former Disney Channel casting executive, Zendaya almost joined another Disney project: the “Descendants” series.
Cornelia Frame, former vice president of casting and talent relations at Disney Channel, shared on the “Magical Rewind” podcast that Zendaya auditioned for a role in “Descendants.”
“Zendaya auditioned many times for ‘Descendants,'” Frame said. “It was a big deal. She really wanted it, and it just didn’t go her way.”
Frame mentioned that Zendaya “put a lot of effort and work” into these auditions. However, it “just didn’t happen.”
She added, “Looking back, I wonder if ‘Spider-Man’ might have happened at the same time. Things happen for a reason, and sometimes when you don’t get one role, you get another amazing opportunity.”
Although Zendaya didn’t get the “Descendants” role, she already had two Disney Channel movies: “Frenemies” in 2012 and “Zapped” in 2014. She also sang in the 2017 musical “The Greatest Showman,” starring with Hugh Jackman and Disney star Zac Efron.
The “Descendants” movies starred Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Booboo Stewart, and Cameron Boyce as the teenage children of classic Disney villains. The first movie came out in 2015, followed by sequels in 2017 and 2019.
Related topics:
