Well, catch a falling star and put it in our pockets, because The Princess Diaries is not over yet after all. The modern Disney Princess story that charmed our hearts in the early ‘00s is reportedly set to get a third film that will continue the story that started with a teen Mia Thermopolis all these years later. The biggest question is whether the Genovian Queens, Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews, will lead the upcoming Disney movie.
The latest news is that Scorpion and Supergirl writer Aadrita Mukerji has been hired to pen a new Princess Diaries movie for Walt Disney Studios. However, per The Hollywood Reporter, Anne Hathaway has not signed a deal to return to the franchise, yet, hopefully.
According to the report, the movie is being developed with “the hope” she would return as Mia Thermopolis. Julie Andrews is not currently attached to the movie at the moment. The Princess Diaries 3 is in the early script stage, so while Disney is certainly pursuing the continuation of the beloved franchise, there’s many more elements of the production that will have to come together first.
What will certainly determine the return of Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews must be the strength of the script, though we’re certainly curious what pitch and direction Aadrita Mukerji is taking with her script that is in the works. The key reason why The Princess Diaries has not continued before now is likely due to the death of both of the movies' director, Garry Marshall, back in 2016.
From what we’ve known about what’s going on with Princess Diaries 3 in the past, Marshall was reportedly working on something associated with the franchise before his passing. Hathaway has also shown clear interest in pursuing a third Princess Diaries, sharing back in 2019 that there was a script, but they would hold off unless it was “perfect.”
Andrews was part of cheerleading the idea in 2020, but in June of this year, she shared that she thought it “be too late” to do the planned Princess Diaries sequel. Among other cast members associated with The Princess Diaries, Heather Matarazzo, who played Mia’s best friend Lilly Moscovitz, Mandy Moore, who played the high school meanie Lana Thomas, and Chris Pine, who played Mia’s love interest in the 2004 sequel, have all shared their interest in returning to play their now nostalgic roles.
When The Princess Diaries’ 20th anniversary passed last summer, Anne Hathaway shared behind the scenes photos with the cast to a flood of fans asking about whether a sequel was happening. There’s most definitely energy here between both parties among much of the cast, but will all the stars align?
The Princess Diaries was Anne Hathaway’s first movie ever, and predated her subsequently massive Hollywood career, including her 2013 Oscar win. Similarly, Amy Adams, who played live-action Disney Princess Giselle, has returned for Disenchanted 15 years after first debuting the role in Enchanted and the witches of Hocus Pocus reprise their iconic roles for a recent and record-breaking sequel.
For now, this news means it’s more possible than ever we could see the Queens of Genovia back together for Princess Diaries 3, but we’ll have to be patient for a bit longer regarding the details of the upcoming sequel.
