Netflix has scooped up the rights to Zendaya‘s super secret lockdown film, Malcolm & Marie, co-starring Tenet‘s John David Washington.
The romantic drama was directed by Euphoria creator Sam Levinson. It was filmed quietly over a two-week period, with extremely strict social distancing protocols and safety measures in place. For example: “No more than one person in a room at any given time unless the additional person has previously been quarantined with the cast or crew member.”
Filming must’ve been fun.
It was also completely shot in black-and-white, and was the first post-pandemic film to complete production.
This one picture alone has me feeling all sorts of ways.
The romantic drama MALCOLM & MARIE, starring @Zendaya and John David Washington, is coming to Netflix!
Sam Levinson’s lush, witty, achingly beautiful film is shot in black-and-white 35MM with cinematography by Marcell Rév. pic.twitter.com/ui1iYEGvtK
— Netflix Tudum (@NetflixTudum) September 13, 2020
The story goes that when Euphoria season 2 was put on hold, Zendaya called Levinson and asked if he could write and direct a movie during quarantine. So he did, casting Zendaya and Washington in the lead roles.
According to Deadline, Washington plays a filmmaker who returns home with his girlfriend (Zendaya) following a celebratory movie premiere. While waiting for the reviews to start piling in, the evening suddenly takes a turn as revelations about their relationship begin to surface, testing the strength of their love.
The film also covers a number of social themes the world is experiencing at the moment.
Netflix apparently paid a cool $30 million for the rights to Malcolm & Marie, beating fierce competitors Amazon, HBO, Apple, A24, Searchlight, MGM, and Focus Features.
Netflix has yet to announce a release date or a trailer, but we’ll keep you updated.
