Zendaya talks season three of Euphoria, and her wish for character Rue: “I just hope for a little bit of joy”

Zendaya has given Euphoria fans a hint at what’s (hopefully) to come for her character, Rue, in the next season of the show – and she’s painted a pretty positive picture. 

The actor appeared on a Q&A panel in Los Angeles (rocking a chic new bob haircut, might we add) alongside her co-stars Hunter Schafer, Sydney Sweeney and Maude Apatow on December 18, and was asked what ‘euphoria’ might look like for their characters moving forward (and in season 3 of the show).

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Zendaya said that her wish for Rue “is literally just to be able to be alive and maybe enjoy it.”

“I just hope for a little bit of joy and for her just to be able to breathe and love without the fear of losing. I mean she’s gonna have to go through some things, yes, but you know, we’ll get there.”

She added that she knows that happiness is possible for Rue, since her character is based on Euphoria creator Sam Levinson’s own experiences with addiction and recovery. “And I know that she can do it because Sam wrote it, and Sam is Rue, and he’s done it,” she said.

“He’s proof that there is hope for Rue and anyone like Rue, and from the beautiful letters and people who have reached out — I am so grateful for those experiences when somebody comes up to me, and they speak about Rue and how they’ve connected to her or whatever part of their healing journey she has been able to be a part of. To me that is the greatest, greatest gift I can ever ask, it gives me euphoria and purpose in what I do.”

Zendaya’s fellow cast members also gave some interesting insights about their characters and what might find them true happiness. For Sydney Sweeney, it’s family for Cassie, since “she’s looking for a family in everyone else. She looks for it and her friends, she looks for it in the guys.”

Maude Apatow said that Lexi would want to free herself from negative thoughts: “Once that’s out of the way, you can realise your full potential, and I think that’ll probably [be] hers: stop attacking herself.”