If your morning coffee went cold because you got caught up whisper-screaming over the image of Hollywood actor Robert Pattinson and Zendaya's engagement, you are not alone.
Bostonians, too, found their hearts skip a beat when they opened The Boston Globe on Monday morning as they were treated to what looked like Hollywood's most unexpected engagement announcement since... well, ever.
But they weren't the only ones shocked to see a formal portrait of Robert Pattinson and Zendaya gazing lovingly like they'd just spent the afternoon picking out China patterns and planning guest list for their wedding in the newspaper's "engagements" section.
Like Bostonians who blinked in disbelief, people sitting at their coffee tables on the other side of the globe got the news through word of mouth, thanks to everyone’s suspiciously good Internet speed.
Of course, Zendaya fans clutched their imaginary pearls on behalf of Tom Holland, while Pattinson loyalists immediately wondered how Suki Waterhouse was doing.
But for anyone who are oblivious to how the two started dating, the names on The Boston Globe announcement read Emma Harwood and Charlie Thompson, which sounds less like two secretly betrothed A-listers who are happy in their respective lives.
This was no real engagement but a moment disguised as the classiest prank ever pulled in a Living/Arts section; a A24 marketing mischief to announce the upcoming film. Globe editors reportedly even held their TV Critic’s Corner column to squeeze in this faux announcement, which honestly feels like the kind of selfless prioritizing most of us can only dream of.
According to IMDb, the movie follows a happily engaged couple whose wedding week starts going off the rails because what’s love without a little cinematic chaos? But A24 didn’t stop at a fake photo and names. The engagement announcement went full wedding-planner mode, offering a deep dive into the fictional couple’s résumés:
Emma Harwood (Zendaya): Baton Rouge-rooted, daughter of a decorated military vet, Portside High Class of 2013, BU English graduate, currently romantically shelving novels at Mission Books.
Charlie Thompson (Pattinson): London kid, Eton alum (because of course), director of the fictional Cambridge Art Museum, proud holder of a PhD in Art History from Tufts which, according to The Boston Globe, does not exist.
A Globe insider said they agreed to play along because the film was both set and shot in Boston, which gives this whole stunt a warm “shop local” energy. The notice also sweetly announced the pair would “wed” on 3 April 2026, better known to movie fans as The Drama’s release date.
Consider your RSVP assumed. Moreover, Kristoffer Borgli known for his specialty brand of delightful oddness—writes and directs, with Mamoudou Athie, Alana Haim, and Hailey Gates rounding out the cast.
And if you needed even more reason to be intrigued: earlier this year, Pattinson revealed he spiralled into a full-on philosophical crisis over a line in the film. He called Zendaya the night before filming, launched into a two-hour analytical monologue, and she apparently responded with the verbal equivalent of a shrug: The line means what it says. Sometimes even Batman needs grounding.
If you’re not already fully invested in this pairing, you will be. Pattinson and Zendaya will also reunite in Dune 3 and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, both set for release in 2026.
In the meantime, at least we got a temporary jolt of scandal, an impeccably staged photo, and the rare pleasure of watching the internet collectively gasp before realising they’d been out-pranked by A24.
