The Drama plot twist, explained

Are we the drama? Since it looks like we aren’t invited to Zendaya’s wedding to Tom Holland, this will have to do: Getting to watch her walk down the aisle (or maybe not?) with Robert Pattinson.

A24 continues to be the indie-film house that makes dreams come true, and their latest offering, The Drama, is a modern rom-dram-com about Z and RPatz on the verge of tying the knot. If that sounds vague, well, yeah. To make matters worse, the trailer dropped in early February and left us with more questions; namely: What did Zendaya's character do?!

The trailer, which you can watch below, shows Zendaya and Robert Pattinson as a loved-up couple, Emma and Charlie, in the run-up to their wedding. In one scene, the pair are enjoying drinks with another couple – played by Alana Haim and Mamoudou Athie – when the conversation takes one hell of a turn. They each share “the worst thing they’ve ever done,” and judging by their reactions to Zendaya's disclosure, her character did something pretty outrageous.

Naturally, we were all wondering what this twist entails. Now we know, and safe to say, people are not happy about it.

A24

The same link describes the plot as follows: “Days before their wedding, a couple’s relationship is shaken when one partner discovers unsettling truths about the other.” The official synopsis reads, “A happily engaged couple is put to the test when an unexpected turn sends their wedding week off the rails.”

The Drama is written and directed by Kristoff Borgli, a Norwegian filmmaker whose most recent project, Dream Scenario, starred Nicolas Cage.

The new film has a runtime of approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes (or 105 minutes, altogether), so it's not going to be a total slog to sit through, but long enough to while away an afternoon or evening at the cinema.

With so many films going straight to streaming these days, you might be wondering if you can catch this new Zendaya and R Patz flick from home. The answer is… no. Films are better seen in the cinema anyway, we reckon. The Drama is being shown at all major cinemas in the UK, including Vue, ODEON, Cineworld and the Everyman. For those looking to watch it on TV, it's expected to be available for purchase on streaming platforms in around five weeks' time.

Let's get into it. Ever since the first poster for The Drama dropped, fans have suspected a twist of heroic proportions. And the trailer – featuring a tantalisingly omitted disclosure by Zendaya's character – has only cranked up the speculation.

Her character discloses the information while playing a parlour game with Pattinson and two friends, in which they are encouraged to say “the worst thing you’ve ever done."

A24

Theories ran rampant, with Reddit and TikTok users claiming it was a school shooting, that the character Emma was transgender, or that she was a psychopath who had her many crimes covered up.

Well, now we know. According to The Guardian, Emma reveals that she once planned a school shooting, but backed out at the last moment. Safe to say, her friends and fiancé are horrified.

The father of a child killed in the Columbine High School massacre has criticised the filmmakers behind the forthcoming movie The Drama.

Speaking to TMZ, Tom Mauser — whose son Daniel was among the 13 people murdered in the 1999 attack — said he finds the use of such subject matter within a romantic comedy context “awful”. Mauser, who has become a prominent advocate for gun reform in the years since the tragedy, also raised concerns about Zendaya’s response to more serious questions about the film’s twist during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last week.

“What’s difficult about even talking about the movie,” Zendaya explained, “is that there are so many different genres [in it]. It is a romantic comedy in many ways but it’s also a drama. Everybody has their own kind of feelings leaving the theatre, especially with the big twist. There’s so many conversations that are had after you watch it.”

A24

To cast a star as beloved as Zendaya, Mauser argued, “humanises” the perpetrators of such violence and “normalises” school shootings — despite the fact her character ultimately backs out of the attack, and no violence is depicted on screen.

It's certainly not something we'd expect to see in a romcom, and maybe that's because it has no place there. The film has so far been screened only to select audiences to avoid spoilers, so it’s not yet possible to fully assess how the subject matter is handled.

Expect to see Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Alana Haim, Mamoudou Athie (Jurassic World: Dominion), Michael Abbott Jr. (Killers of the Flower Moon), Sydney Lemmon (Succession), and Hailey Gates (Challengers).

They knew what they were doing with this. They knew if they put Pattinson in a T-shirt and glasses and rumpled his hair and posed the two of them casually in a grainy photo that people would think, for a millisecond, that he might be Tom Holland. The two actors don’t really look alike, but still. A24, of all companies, enjoys a lil stunt, or did you miss the Marty Supreme blimp?

Courtesy of A24

Anyway, the moment the poster went live on Instagram, the commentariat rushed in to post that one GIF of Spider-Man fighting Batman (for Zendaya). They also pointed out that with Pattinson joining the cast of the third Dune film, he and Zendaya will costar in three films released in 2026 (they are also both in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey).

Yes! You can watch it here.

The Drama hit cinemas on 3 April 2026.