Zendaya Will Campaign for Dune: Part Three in the Oscar Lead Actress Race
Zendaya will campaign for an Oscar nomination in the lead actress category for her role as Chani in Dune: Part Three, Variety reported on 23 October 2026. For the first two Dune films, she was positioned in the supporting actress category instead.
The Academy Awards, the Oscars, split acting into lead and supporting categories. Where a studio or actor places a performance can shape which rivals it competes against, so a move from supporting to lead is a notable change of strategy.
Dune: Part Three is the final chapter of Denis Villeneuve's science-fiction epic. Warner Bros. will release it in theatres and on IMAX screens on 18 December. Timothée Chalamet and Robert Pattinson also star, and Rebecca Ferguson plays Lady Jessica in a smaller role, according to Deadline.
Zendaya is not campaigning on one film alone. She plays Emma Harwood in The Drama, written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli and co-starring Robert Pattinson. Her performance in that film will also be submitted for lead actress consideration, Variety said.
She also plays Athena in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, and she will be considered for supporting actress recognition for that role. Universal is campaigning Anne Hathaway in the supporting actress category for the same film. Variety reported in September that her bid could land her a second Oscar.
Zendaya's track record includes two Emmy wins for playing Rue in Euphoria. That makes her the youngest two-time winner in the lead drama actress category, Variety said. She won a Golden Globe for the same series in 2023.
In 2025, she earned two Golden Globe nominations for Challengers, directed by Luca Guadagnino. One was for lead actress in a comedy, and the other was for her work as a producer on the film in the best picture, musical or comedy category. A Golden Globe is a separate award from the Oscars, voted on by a different group.
She has not yet been nominated for an Oscar. A nomination this year would be her first. Variety's 2027 Oscar predictions, published the same day, include Dune: Part Three across its category lists, and the film is eligible in the acting categories.
Zendaya also returns as MJ in Destin Daniel Cretton's Spider-Man: Brand New Day, a role she has played in the Marvel films for years.
For a general audience, the key point is simple. The same actor can be pitched for two different awards on two different films at once, and the category chosen for each can change how the work is judged. The Oscar nominations themselves are still to come.
