Zendaya, Colman Domingo free to ‘pursue other opportunities’ after ‘Euphoria’ season 3 shoot delayed

HBO Max announced that filming of the hit teen drama has been put on pause.

“Euphoria” fans will have to wait a little bit longer for season three. 

HBO Max announced on Monday that filming of the hit teen drama has been delayed to allow creator Sam Levinson more time to write scripts, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Production on “Euphoria” was expected to start within the next few months, Deadline reported, but no firm date has been released.  

The production delay allows for lead actress Zendaya, along with series regulars Colman Domingo, Storm Reid, and Nika King, to pursue other projects, the streamer said in a statement. 

“HBO and Sam Levinson remain committed to making an exceptional third season,” HBO told THR. “In the interim, we are allowing our in-demand cast to pursue other opportunities.”

The cast has not been let go from their contracts, however, and season three of “Euphoria” is still expected to be released in 2025, according to THR. Writing for season three of the acclaimed HBO series was initially delayed due to the writer’s strike in 2023, according to reports. Season two aired in 2022. 

In the interim, the “Euphoria” cast has catapulted into certified A-listers with Zendaya leading the $1 billion “Dune” franchise, Domingo receiving his first Oscar nomination for his role in Netflix’s “Rustin,” and Reid winning her first Emmy for her performance as Riley Abel in HBO’s “The Last of Us.” 

Zendaya held back tears while discussing “Euphoria” and her character, Rue, during an FYC Emmy event at the Academy Museum in 2022, Variety reported. 

“One of the greatest honors about being able to play her is every story that I have now gained when people come to me and they share their stories of sobriety,” Zendaya said at the time. “It’s so beautiful to me every single time, and I think I take on those stories with me and they become part of who each time I play her.”

“I get very emotional about [it] because I care about her a lot because she represents a lot of people that need a lot of love. And she represents part of myself, and she represents part of Sam [Levinson]. That means a lot to me, and I just want people to be able to heal through her.”

Domingo addressed the season 3 delay in an interview with GQ in February amid his Oscars campaign run. The actor shared that creator Levinson is “a person who writes and rewrites and writes and rewrites again, because I think he’s wrestling with what’s important.”

“He’s responding immediately to what the ills of the world are,” Domingo told the publication. “I know that the one thing I can tell you is that he’s very much interested in the existential question of who we are right now. Our souls. That’s what he wants to figure out with season three.”  

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