Zendaya discusses hope and joy with friend and 'Dune' co-star Timothée Chalamet for 'Elle' Canada

It's about to be a big year for Zendaya who, this month, stars in Netflix's Malcolm & Marie, and soon can be seen in Denis Villeneuve's highly anticipated Dune, alongside fangirl favourite Timothée Chalamet.

To mark the occasion, the young stunner is gracing the gasp-worthy February/March cover of Elle Canada, shot by Micaiah Carter, for which none other than Chalamet does the enviable job of interviewing his friend and co-star, who talks all things movies, politics and change.

“At this moment in time, it is hard to find joy and beauty in things, and I really think that is important,” Zendaya says. “Right now, we as Black people need to embrace joy and not let it be taken away from us.”

During her acceptance speech just months ago upon winning an Emmy for HBO's Euphoria and becoming the youngest to ever win for best leading actress, Zendaya noted that "there is hope in the young people."

Asked by Chalamet what that means for her, the actress said, "I find hope in my peers, the people who are out there on the streets doing the work – people I admire and go to for advice and information on what's happening so that I can make sure I'm using my platform to help in the most strategic way I can."

The pair chat, too, about their experience filming Dune, which is set to be released Oct. 1 after a year-long delay due to the pandemic.

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Playing an unlikely pair who find themselves teaming together against an unusual force in a distant future, Zendaya said she felt "like such a badass" being in the film's sci-fi world. And then there was the time they had a "super-legit f--king wrap party at the end" – in Chalamet's words – where they danced with co-star Javier Bardem. A time!

As for the "challenge" of filming romantic drama Malcolm & Marie with her close collaborator and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson in quarantine alongside a small crew and actor John David Washington, Zendaya said the experience was "an actor's dream."

"It was also a little nerve-wracking. When you have an idea and you're putting your own money into it – I mean, I was literally using my own clothes on-set and doing my own hair and makeup – it's hard not to be a little bit insecure. Like, 'Oh, my gosh, am I really doing this?' It was the first time I just went for something, and I'm so grateful and proud of it."

For more, you can pick up Elle Canada's latest issue when it hits newsstands and Apple News+ on Feb. 1.

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