Zendaya Will Use ‘Dune: Part Three’ to Campaign For Best Actress Oscar

Amid a busy acting year, Zendaya is hoping her many movies, including Dune: Part Three, could get her a nomination this Oscars season. Per Variety, she’ll be looking to submit her role in the threequel for the “Best Actress” slot. After being a more supporting actress in the first two, trailers have shown a more leading role for Chani this time around. Both Zendaya and director Denis Villeneuve have previously talked about Chani and Paul’s split after he became a messianic figure in Part Two, and trailers have teased various confrontations between the two after decades of being apart. If Zendaya did land a lead actress nomination for Dune, it’d be her first. But she’s not putting all her hopes on this one movie: Variety added that she’ll also submit as “lead actress” for A24’s The Drama and “supporting” for playing Athena in The Odyssey. And for those curious, there’s no indication she’s looking to try for either category using her turn as MJ in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. (It’s not a dumb thing to wonder, since Sony thought No Way Home warranted a “Best Picture” nomination.) The last two Dune movies ran campaigns for several categories, landing nominations in “Best Picture” and technical categories. Both won in “Best Sound” and “Best VFX,” with the first also winning for “Best Original Score,” “Best Film Editing,” and “Best Cinematography.” Any of Part Three’s cast getting acting nominations would be notable—and when the film lands on December 18, we’ll how viable those hopes are. Want more io9 news? Check out the best movies and TV shows to stream this month and all the upcoming sci-fi, fantasy, and horror books that should be on your radar.