Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney Talk Euphoria’s Delay

To cut a long story short, Season 2 of the hit HBO show aired in 2022. Shortly afterward, the Daily Beast reported that insiders had alleged that the environment on set was “toxic.”

The development of Season 3 was impacted by the writers’ and actors’ strikes and the deaths of star Angus Cloud and executive producer Kevin Turen. Variety then reported that HBO was dissatisfied with showrunner Sam Levinson’s scripts. In July, the Hollywood Reporter alleged that a dispute between Sam and series star Zendaya further contributed to a delay.

In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Zendaya was asked where she stood with Sam and the show. Seemingly denying claims of a rift leading to production delays, she replied, “I will say, I have been off for a couple years, so not delayed because of my…I’ve been open, just waiting.”

Zendaya then echoed HBO’s comment on the Season 3 shoot date, adding, “[Euphoria] is slated for January, I believe. I haven’t read anything yet, but I’m excited to see what everyone has been working on, and what the future looks like for Euphoria.”

“I don’t really have much of an answer except for right now it’s set to start shooting in January. My most important thing is to do justice by the people who love and care about Rue, and make sure that she’s looked after as a character. I think that’s my number one duty,” she continued.

In a separate interview, also by Vanity Fair, Sydney was asked how she’ll be able to “tune out the world” on set following the death of Angus and her recent success. “I mean, that’s my job. I have to go to work and become my character,” she replied.

“Especially with Euphoria — Cassie is such a deep, meaningful character for me. I think that, through her, I’ll be able to also grieve in a way as well. Cassie is the longest character I’ve ever had in my life. I feel like she’ll always have such a special place in my heart, so I know that I’ll be able to just jump right in,” she continued.

When asked about the impact a delayed season had on her career, Sydney replied, “There were definitely a few projects that I had to pass on because I was supposed to be going back to Euphoria. But because I am producing now, I was able to say, ‘You know what? I don’t think this is happening. I’m going to put some of my own projects on the slate.'”

“That’s how Anyone but You happened. Euphoria was supposed to start filming, and I had another film that I was supposed to do, but we couldn’t get cleared and after a few weeks, I realized, This is not happening. So I put in full gear to make Anyone but You,” she added.

You can read the full interview with Zendaya here and with Sydney here.