Have a fun theory... Was this NYC pap walk around the time they were reading The Odyssey scripts? And was that red folder Tom was carrying actually a section of Christopher Nolan's infamous red script or just panel notes?
I’ve always suspected this pap walk was a little industry flex (why flash a red folder at a TCR panel). And now, with the story about Tom bringing the Nolan script home and letting Zendaya read it (twice!), it has sent me down a little rabbit hole wondering when all of this actually happened
So hear me out.
Looking back, the timing in March 2024 is interesting. Zendaya had wrapped the Dune press tour, presales to Tom's Romeo & Juliet on the West End had sold out in record time, and by March they were both back in LA.
Z kicked off the Challengers press tour at Indian Wells with Tom around 17 March.
By late March, Zendaya was flying to Australia for the Challengers premiere, while Tom was heading back to London to begin Romeo & Juliet rehearsals.
So ...
What if they read the script together while they were in LA early March, and Tom's stopover in NYC on his way to London was to attend the TCR panel on 28 March and also meet with Chris and return it?
At this same time, Variety reported that Euphoria S3 had been delayed again because the scripts weren't ready, and Amy Pascal was hinting that Spider-Man 4 discussions were also underway with Marvel and Sony and maybe some possible directors. Zendaya has since said they were prepared to do anything (break up even /j 😜) to make the scheduling work, and those were probably the two productions that had the biggest influence on what other films they could commit to.
So... was it just a red folder? Or was Tom not so subtly putting it out there that he [and perhaps Z too] were in serious discussions with Nolan, and that their other commitments needed to pay attention and get their shit together ...
I'm reading way too much into it, but it's fun to wonder if there was something a little more intentional going on here. I mean... He walks in and out of the session with it very clearly on display. In front of the all the paps...
It also has me thinking this might be part of the reason they keep bringing up the moment they were offered the part and reading the script together.
Getting to star in a Nolan film together is obviously incredible and lifechanging. Something they will talk about forever. But maybe the extra flex was everything that happened behind the scenes, making the schedules align and negotiating around two huge productions with some heavy industry players so they could both do it. If this is the case it's probably not something they can ever really talk about publicly but are super super proud of.
Either way, it’s a fun little theory and some delulu to chew on.
Also the rumours about Tom being in Nolans next film started around October 2024 and then both Tom and Zendaya were officially announced the following month. So this was all happening a good six months before.