Zendaya’s got two upcoming book-to-screen adaptations that have been drumming up some serious buzz amongst fans. She’ll be reprising her role as the Fremen warrior Chani in Dune: Part Three and will play the goddess Athena in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. Recently, the Euphoria star showed her love for the stories that inspired her new roles by posing with copies of the respective texts at an independent bookstore. With that, literature lovers quickly locked in on a key detail.
The Emmy winner paid a visit to Rakestraw Books, where she chatted with the staff and received great reading recommendations. In the Danville-based bookstore’s post below, you can see Zendaya posing with some the reads that just so happen to be the basis for her upcoming 2026 movie schedule titles. Take a look at the bibliophile’s fun photo below:
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How perfect was it that Zendaya was able to find Dune and The Odyssey at the independent bookstore just as her movie adaptations are soon to be released? What's more is that I love the funny (and knowing) pose she gives in the photo. Not to speak for the A-lister, but I could imagine such a moment feeling quite gratifying for her. That's especially due to her having filmed Dune: Part Three and The Odyssey simultaneously and put in a lot of serious work.
As much as fans loved seeing the Drama actress holding copies of those beloved stories, they noticed one key detail regarding the version of Homer's epic poem that she picked up. Take a look at the comments and see if you noticed the same thing:
- "And the Wilson translation 👏🔥 She knows ball." - @ hayleysgilmore
- "She knows best to pick up the Emily Wilson translation of The Odyssey🔥👏 " - @nicolectomaz
- "& she's holding the best translation 🤭💕" - @radheka
- "It’s the Wilson translation for me!!!! 📚🧚🏼♀️🧜🏾♀️" - @my_beasty
- "Not for nothing but that Emily Wilson Odyssey translation is 🔥🔥" - @phantom_in_the_stacks
- "The Emily Wilson translation right right" - @friendlizard
Yes, the former Disney Channel star is holding the Emily Wilson translation of The Odyssey, which just happens to be considered one of the best translations for beginners of Homer’s classic poem. Compared to previous romanticized versions, Wilson’s iteration of the ancient Greek epic is widely lauded for its clarity and directness. No wonder literary fans are going gaga over it in the comments!
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Interestingly, a fun fact to know about Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is that the British filmmaker used Emily Wilson’s translation as one of his film’s major sources. With that, Nolan’s tweaks for his upcoming fantasy-action film may help make the story a bit more accessible to general audiences.
Not only do the trailers for Nolan's latest historical epic show the characters speaking contemporary English, but it also features a heightened, reimagined version of the ancient world. I'm hopeful that that'll bring a fresh perspective to the story though, of course, I'm confident that Nolan will also stay true to its core themes and events.
I can imagine book devotees will have a lot to say about The Odyssey after it hits theaters, and the same may be true after the Dune threequel opens as well. Personally, my excitement for these films is already quite high and, after seeing Zendaya's photo (complete with the Watson-translated book), I'm getting even more psyched.
Make sure to see Zendaya take on the Goddess of Wisdom when The Odyssey opens in theaters and IMAX on July 17th. Also, see the starlet reprise Chani in Dune: Part Three, which hits cinemas on December 18th.
