Sam Levinson revealed that telling Zendaya about Rue’s death was one of the most emotionally charged conversations of the entire conversation. Euphoria production, and that the weight of it stayed with them both throughout filming.
Talk to Varietythe series creator described telling his lead actress that her character would not survive the final season.
“When I started it this season and at the end, it was a very emotional reaction,” Levinson said.
“We love the character of Rue. She did an incredible job bringing this character to life…in the hands of a lesser actor, the character wouldn’t be as charming and lovable and humorous. So it was a tough discussion. Even during filming, it kind of weighed on both of us.”
The decision to kill Rue was deeply personal for Levinson, who has spoken openly about his own history of drug addiction.
The season three arc was largely shaped by the death of Angus Cloud, who played Fezco in the first two seasons and died of a drug overdose at the age of 25.
In the series finale, Rue takes painkillers from her boss Alamo, played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, which turn out to contain fentanyl.
After a dream sequence in which she returns to her mother’s house, it is revealed that she died in her sleep on the couch of her mentor Ali, played by Colman Domingo.
“In the end, she understood what I was doing, and it seemed like the right way to honor Angus, someone we loved dearly and saw the best in,” Levinson said.
Domingo’s presence on set during these final scenes was a grounding force for everyone involved.
“We also had Colman Domingo there, who has been one of my closest collaborators for over a decade and a fundamental force in Zendaya’s life as well,” Levinson said.
“That kind of camaraderie really helped that sequence feel authentic and meaningful. We’ve been doing this for eight or nine years together, so it was a wonderful few days while we were shooting those scenes, because we knew how the audience would react to them.”
Levinson also shared a behind-the-scenes detail from the season’s memorable opening sequence, in which Rue attempts to drive her battered Jeep through the U.S.-Mexico border fence.
The initial concept was rather different.
“She was originally supposed to swim across the Rio Grande,” he said.
The change happened during a reconnaissance at the Drug Enforcement Administration offices in Los Angeles, where Levinson spotted a photo on the wall of a Jeep lodged atop a border wall.
When he asked what had happened, a DEA agent explained that someone had simply tried to drive across the border.
“I thought, ‘That’s the kind of stupid thing Rue would do,'” Levinson said. “And so we ended up recreating it.”
