Zendaya Auditioned ‘Many Times’ for ‘Descendants,’ Says Former Disney Channel Exec: ‘She Really Wanted It,’ but It ‘Ended Up Not Going Her Way’

Before Zendaya had leading roles in such blockbusters as “Dune: Part Two” and Marvel’s “Spider-Man” trilogy, she was known as a teen star on the Disney Channel series “Shake It Up” and “K.C. Undercover.” And, according to a former Disney Channel casting executive, the actor could’ve been associated with another major project from the network: the “Descendants” franchise.

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Cornelia Frame, former vice president of casting and talent relations at Disney Channel, revealed in a recent interview on the “Magical Rewind” podcast that Zendaya auditioned for an undisclosed role in “Descendants.”

“Zendaya did audition many times for ‘Descendants,’ and that was a big deal,” Frame said. “I mean, a really big deal that she auditioned over and over. She really wanted it, and it just ended up not going her way.”

Frame noted that Zendaya “put so much effort and so much work” into these auditions, but ultimately “it’s just one of those things.”

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She continued: “Now that I think about it, I’m like, ‘Would “Spider-Man” have happened right at that same time?’ Things happen for a reason, and you do often book this other thing that’s amazing when you don’t get something else.”

Even though Zendaya didn’t book the role in “Descendants,” she already had two Disney Channel original movies on her résumé: 2012’s “Frenemies” and 2014’s “Zapped.” She then lent her voice to songs in the 2017 musical film “The Greatest Showman,” which she starred in opposite Hugh Jackman and fellow Disney star Zac Efron.

The first three “Descendants” movies starred Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Booboo Stewart and Cameron Boyce as the teenage children of classic Disney villains. The original was released in 2015, and was followed by two sequels in 2017 and 2019.

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