Zendaya reacts to backlash over 12 year age gap with Marie & Malcolm co star John David Washington

Christian Bale and John David Washington hold onto Margot Robbie while filming a sequence of scenes for the David O. Russell movie in Los Angeles on Monday (February 8).

John David Washington, 36, stars in the new Netflix film Malcolm & Marie with Zendaya, 24. The movie, which is being released on Feb. 5, follows a filmmaker and his girlfriend as they confront long-simmering issues between them. Malcolm & Marie was filmed in secret during quarantine using COVID-19 safety precautions.

It was a big night for excellence in Black filmmaking.

“Chadwick Bosman was an amazing artist. We’ve all been thrilled, and excited, and overwhelmed by the depth of his work,” said Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom director George C. Wolfe who presented the late actor Chadwick Bosman with Performance of the Year Award at Critics’ Choice Association’s virtual annual celebration Of Black cinema. “He was so present, not just as an actor but he was present as a human being.”

Zendaya and John David Washington team up in Netflix’s “Malcolm & Marie” — a pandemic-shot drama that explores the relationship between a director and his model girlfriend.

Zendaya swishes into in a lamé evening gown slit up to there, arriving home from her boyfriend's film premiere. She's pissed but trying to hide it as she angrily takes pulls from a lit cigarette.

There’s always backlash — and Zendaya is not here for it. In her new movie, Malcolm & Marie, the Euphoria actress, 24, plays John David Washington‘s love interest. However, the age gap — he is 12 years older than her at 36 — has caused some fans to criticize the casting.

, is getting Oscar buzz—and backlash. Euphoria creator Sam Levinson wrote the film for Zendaya, but her age gap with love interest John David Washington is causing some criticism among fans.

Euphoria still lingering and a record-breaking Best Actress Emmy award to top it off, Zendaya's upcoming project looks to be one of her bravest and most exciting to date. Malcolm & Marie stars John David Washington as Malcolm and Zendaya Coleman as Marie.

Zendaya is addressing some backlash regarding her new movie.

John David Washington discusses being reluctant to follow in his father Denzel’s footsteps, his role in “Malcolm & Marie” and more in a new interview with WSJ. Magazine.

“No one fucking cares about that sh*t, Malcolm!” shouts an exasperated Marie (Zendaya). Malcolm (John David Washington) worships the classic filmmakers—a love externalized by way of the vintage title credits that open the film—espousing the genius of William Wyler and the brilliance of “The Best Years of Our Lives” and “Citizen Kane.” Within the confines of this luxe modernist home, nestled in the Hollywood hills, the ensuing quarrel between the couple is unlike any other.

Watch Video: 'Malcolm & Marie' Trailer: Zendaya and John David Washington Have Steamy, Love-Hate RelationshipMarie’s opening salvo is that Malcolm forgot to thank her during his lengthy curtain speech, but that minor betrayal exposes a myriad of fault lines in their relationship, from his ego to her low self-esteem, not to mention the fact that she feels that Malcolm has raided her own past issues with drug addiction and rehab to create the female lead of his film, who’s having issues with drug

In a relatively short time, John David Washington went from the newcomer starring in “BlacKkKlansman” to one of the biggest actors on the planet thanks to films like “Tenet” and the forthcoming “Malcolm & Marie,” which might land him an Oscar-nomination. So, you would have to imagine that the film world is opening up to Washington in a big, big way, and the actor knows the filmmakers he would love to collaborate with next.

John David Washington was not “concerned” about the 12-year age gap between him and his Malcolm & Marie co-star Zendaya.The 36-year-old Tenet star and the 24-year-old Euphoria actress play the titular filmmaker and his girlfriend in the upcoming drama for Netflix.And John has insisted Zendaya is a woman beyond her years and has “far more experience” in the movie industry than he does so he’s been “learning” a lot from her.“I wasn’t concerned about it because she is a woman,” he told Variety.

Gallery: From Nurse Ratched to Tammy: Sarah Paulson's Top 10 characters (BANG Showbiz)“People are going to see in this film how much of a woman she is. She has far more experience than I do in the industry.