Following the announcement of sequels for Freaky Friday and The Devil Wears Prada, another early-2000s classic has received a long-awaited follow-up. The Princess Diaries, or as Meghan Markle once referred to it as that “old movie with Anne Hathaway,” is getting a third installment. The Princess Diaries 3 has found its director, more than 20 years after 2004’s The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement and the original 2001 film.
Filmmaker Adele Lim, who wrote the scripts for Disney’s 2021 animated film Raya and the Last Dragon and Crazy Rich Asians before making her directorial debut with last year’s R-rated female comedy Joy Ride, will helm the project. “As a die-hard fan of the original Princess Diaries, I’m beyond excited to be a part of bringing the third iteration of this beloved franchise to life,” she said in a statement to Deadline, which was first to report the news. “We look forward to celebrating its core tenants of female power, joy, and mentorship with audiences worldwide.”
The first two movies, adapted from Meg Cabot’s popular young adult novels, were directed by Garry Marshall, who died in 2016. They centered on Hathaway’s Mia Thermopolis, a teenager who learns she is heir to the throne of a fictional European nation called Genovia. Princess lessons conducted by her grandmother Queen Clarisse Renaldi (played by Julie Andrews) follow, and continue into Mia’s coronation in the sequel.
Princess Diaries 3 Director and Plot
Looks like it, yes. With the selection of Lim as director, a threequel that has long been in the works inches a step closer to reality. Back in 2022, it was reported that a third Princess Diaries film was in development with screenwriter Aadrita Mukerji, who previously worked on TV’s Supergirl and Quantum Leap, and that Debra Martin Chase, a producer on the first two installments, is set to return. She will executive-produce alongside Lim’s producing partners, Naia Cucukov and Melissa Stack.
Earlier this year, Hathaway was asked by New York Times Magazine, “Is anything cooking with a Princess Diaries 3?” She replied, “Yep,” before declining to reveal more.
Before signing onto the new film, Hathaway’s affection for the franchise was on full display while speaking with Vanity Fair earlier this year. “This was the film that changed my life,” she said, growing emotional as she watched a clip from the original movie, which she hadn’t seen in “maybe 20 years.” Hathaway said that The Princess Diaries “wound up being so big, and it’s just gotten bigger as my life has progressed.”
The Princess Diaries Cast: Who's In?
Other actors who were involved in both movies have expressed interest in returning—from Mandy Moore, who played mean girl Lana in the original film to Sandra Oh, who appeared in a brief but memorable role as vice principal Gupta: “I am ready for the queen,” she told Entertainment Weekly last year. “Call me! I’m dying to see how Gupta has moved up in the world.”
Perhaps more significantly, Chris Pine, who played Mia’s love interest, Nicholas Devereaux, in the 2004 sequel, seemed open to the idea of reuniting with Hathaway back in 2016. “Don’t you pray every night for a Princess Diaries 3?” he was asked during a fan Q&A for Entertainment Weekly. Pine replied, “Have you been reading my diary?”
And then there is Andrews, who, shortly after development on the threequel was reported in 2022, suggested that she wouldn’t be involved. “I think we know that it’s probably not going to be possible,” the 89-year-old actor told Access Hollywood. “It was talked about very shortly after two came out, but it’s now how many years since then? And I am that much older and Annie the princess, or queen, is so much older. And I am not sure where it would float or run.” Although Andrews continues to work and will still voice Lady Whistledown in Bridgerton season 4, she has not appeared in a non-animated film role since 2010’s Tooth Fairy.
The same year of Andrew’s remarks, Hathaway remained steadfast in her commitment to bringing the fellow Oscar winner back. “If there’s any way to get Julie Andrews involved, I think we could make it work,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “We would go to where she was and put a green screen behind her and just make it happen.”
What We Know About The Princess Diaries 3
There’s no plot synopsis yet, but when audiences last saw Mia Thermopolis in 2004’s The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, she was being crowned the new queen of Genovia after Clarisse stepped down from the throne for a romance with her longtime bodyguard, Joe (Héctor Elizondo). Although the films deviate from Cabot’s original books, a third movie could borrow from the many sequels that have followed the last screen adaptation. Since 2004, Cabot has written several books in the Princess Diaries universe, publishing The Quarantine Princess Diaries, her 12th novel in the series, in March 2023.
There is no official release date, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney plans to shoot the movie next year. Remember: A queen (or any movies about her) is never late—everyone else is simply early.
The Princess Diaries Is Coming Back: Anne Hathaway's Instagram Announcement
Anne Hathaway posted a fun video clip to her verified Instagram on Friday, where she was seen lounging outdoors before she made the number one with her hand. The video then cut to a younger Hathaway in the now classic 2001 film The Princess Diaries, in which she was seen uttering the iconic line, “A princess?! Shut up!”
After the Oscar-winner held two fingers up, the clip cut to her costar Julie Andrews, repeating the adage “Shut up” from their sequel The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement from 2004.
Then, with a smile, Hathaway held up three fingers, and said “Shut up” herself. After laughing and blowing a kiss to the camera, she shared a screenshot of a news report announcing that the The Princess Diaries 3 is currently in the works at Disney, with Joyride director Adele Lim attached.
“Miracles happen,” Hathaway wrote in the caption, before adding “Back to Genovia” in a nod to the fictional kingdom from the film series. She ended her message with, “The fairy tale continues” and a flaming heart emoji.
What’s Next for The Princess Diaries?
“The Princess Diaries” tells the tale of Mia Thermopolis, played by Hathaway, an unsuspecting teen who discovers she is the heir apparent to a royal throne. Andrews portrayed Queen Clarisse Renaldi in the films, Mia’s estranged grandmother and ruler of Genovia.
While a third entry in the beloved millennial franchise – a full 20 years after the last film – is gleeful news, it isn’t the only highly anticipated sequel Hathaway is involved in.
According to IMDb, The Devil Wears Prada 2 in pre-production with Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci all listed to as cast members. The plot for that sequel will apparently follow Streep’s ruthless magazine editor Miranda Priestly as struggles against her former assistant and now-rival executive Emily Charlton (Blunt), “as they compete for advertising revenue amidst declining print media while Miranda nears retirement.”
