Why people are suddenly hesitant to watch Zendaya’s new movie, ‘The Drama’

A key plot reveal and public criticism are changing how audiences see the film.

BY María José Gutierrez Chavez

When a fake wedding announcement featuring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson popped up in a late-year print issue of The Boston Globe, it looked like a star-studded rom-com was underway. But The Drama, indie studio A24’s latest film, has stirred controversy—and most audiences don’t know what it’s about.

The film’s trailers, the first of which was dropped just a day after the wedding announcement, revealed a somewhat vague plot line—Zendaya and Pattinson play Emma and Charlie, a couple grappling with the aftermath of a confession as they prepare for their wedding.

Speculation on the film’s big twist ignited a flurry of conspiracies and theories online, ranging from mere cheating to violent crimes

“What the fuck did she do that made the whole fucking movie change,” a user commented on the YouTube trailer.

But as more information on the movie’s plot unfolded, controversy followed.

In March—weeks leading up to the film’s April 3 release—gun reform activist Tom Mauser, the father of a victim of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, spoke out against the upcoming movie.

It turns out that in the movie, Emma, while playing a game in which friends confess to the worst thing they’ve ever done, admits to planning a school shooting but never going through with it—a twist that has left many, like Mauser, concerned over how the film deals with such a delicate subject matter.

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