Imagine a parallel universe where Zendaya graced the Descendants franchise with her dazzling presence!
The Disney Channel’s Descendants saga just dropped its fourth flick, but the original trio of films was all about Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Cameron Boyce, and Booboo Stewart—basically Disney Channel’s Fab Four.
But wait, what if I told you Zendaya was auditioning for Descendants like she was trying to win a gold medal in Olympic auditioning? Yep, that’s right! According to a former Disney Channel exec—Cornelia Frame, whose title sounds like she’s in charge of magical unicorns too—Zendaya was all in for the Descendants gig, auditioning so many times you’d think she was auditioning for a permanent spot in Disneyland.
Cornelia spilled the tea on the Magical Rewind podcast, saying, “Zendaya did audition many times for Descendants. It was a really big deal. She auditioned over and over and really wanted it. It just ended up not going her way.” It’s like Zendaya was on a quest to collect Descendants audition badges, but alas, she didn’t get the golden ticket.
She even mused about the cosmic what-ifs, pondering if Spider-Man would have swung into Zendaya’s life right then. Because, apparently, if you don’t land a Disney role, you might just land a Spider-Man gig! And let’s be real, Zendaya’s Spider-Man debut was the ultimate plot twist we didn’t see coming.
One more thing—Zendaya’s Spider-Man role wasn’t announced until March 2016, which was kind of like saying, “Hey, I’m off to swing with Spidey!” while Descendants 2 was just gearing up. So, sometimes missing out on one magical role just means you’re destined to star in another, more superhero-y adventure.