Shut Up! A New ‘Princess Diaries’ Movie Is in the Works

Does the tiara still fit? Following two successful Princess Diaries films, devoted fans have been clamoring for more.

“There is a script for the third movie. There is a script,” Anne Hathaway, who played Princess Mia Thermopolis in the 2001 flick, revealed during a January 2019 appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. “I want to do it. Julie [Andrews] wants to do it. Debra Martin Chase, our producer, wants to do it. We all really want it to happen.”

The WeCrashed alum — who later reprised her role as the Genovian royal in the 2004 sequel — added at the time that the creative team was “working on” a third idea.

“It’s just we don’t want to [do it] unless it’s perfect because we love it just as much as you guys love it,” Hathaway explained. “It’s as important to us as it is to you, and we don’t want to deliver anything until it’s ready, but we’re working on it.”

Late director Garry Marshall previously adapted Meg Cabot’s bestselling Princess Diaries novels for the big screen. In the first film, Hathaway’s Mia is an ordinary — albeit unpopular — teenager who discovers she’s the princess of a small European country and meets her estranged grandmother (Andrews) for the first time. The Sound of Music actress, for her part, played Queen Clarisse Renaldi, instructing her sole heir — and granddaughter — how to act like a princess.

[jwplayer xTgXzcXc-zhNYySv2]

Several years later, nearly the entire cast reprised their regal roles for a sequel: The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. In the follow-up, Mia returns to Genovia ready to ascend the throne, taking over for Queen Clarisse. However, an ancient law stated that she must be married before becoming queen. Chris Pine also stars as Mia’s eventual love interest.

“I’d say Princess Diaries 2 just to see how much hair I can have,” Pine — who made his feature film debut as Lord Nicholas Devereaux in the sequel — told Collider in April 2022 when asked which of his past roles movie viewers should watch first. “I’ve never had the best of luck with hair in films. It just means that I have hair. I mean, my hair in that f—king film.”

He added: “And I got to work with Garry Marshall and Anne Hathaway, and a whole bunch of stuff, but it’s mostly for the hair.”

Ever since the sequel’s 2004 release, fans have been hoping for more Princess Diaries content. However, Andrews made headlines in June 2022 when she dished they may have missed the boat on making a third film in the franchise.

“I think it would be too late to do it now,” the Mary Poppins star told The Hollywood Reporter at the time. “There was talk of a sequel many, many years ago. But I don’t think it ever came to pass. And Garry then did leave us [upon his 2016 death]. [For] especially me, it’s too far down the line now to go back to it. It’s a lovely thought, but I don’t think it would probably be possible.”

Scroll below for more of the Princess Diaries cast’s honest quotes about reuniting on screen once more:

[podcast_block]

Hathaway told TV host Andy Cohen in January 2019 that the whole crew “really want” to make a third movie happen.

“There’s been talk about it for quite a while. I think [Anne] had or is having a second child and she’s busy and I’ve been busy,” the Julie’s Greenroom alum told Cohen on WWHL in October 2019. “I think if it happens, it would be lovely, and if it doesn’t, I wouldn’t have known about it.”

While Andrews admitted she has yet to hear about a potential script, she told The Talk cohosts that she was pleased by the idea.

“I’m getting awfully old and crotchety. I’m not sure if it’s the right timing, but I think to work with Annie would be lovely again. And yeah, sure, I would be up for it,” she said in April 2020.

Pine, whose character ends up dating Queen Mia by the sequel’s end, told Extra in March 2022 that he also hasn’t seen a script but would be down to bring back Lord Nicholas. He joked to the outlet: “If it’s in Los Angeles, I’ll be there! It’s my hometown; I have a lot of pride.”

Following Marshall’s death, Cabot teased that a third film could serve as an homage to the director’s legacy.

“I am not allowed to say,” Cabot told Entertainment Weekly in July 2017 of a potential “tribute” film. “I would love to sit and talk about [it], but I can’t. I’m not allowed. But it’s really more following the movie than the books, so if she — the last version I read, she definitely did not find out that she has a biracial younger sister [like my book series] … which I personally would’ve thought was hilarious, but that was not the direction they were going.”

“I don’t think it would make sense for my character, the high school bully, to appear,” Mandy Moore — who portrayed Grove High School cheerleader Lana in the first film — told Elle magazine in July 2017. “Maybe I would make some quick cameo. I would like to see this woman evolve. If I’m going to be involved, I would be down for a cameo — maybe she could make amends with Mia and apologize for being a bully when she was younger? She was insecure, going through a difficult time in her life and [has now] reflected on why that wasn’t OK.”

In August 2022, Moore once again opened up about the possibility of returning for a third film during an interview on The Drew Barrymore Show. While she explained that a redemption arc for Lana would still be necessary, she confessed that the idea of playing onscreen BFFs with Hathaway would be too tempting to turn down. 

“She’s done a 180, she’s turned her life around and she and Mia become really good friends. So, I would be game, I mean Anne Hathaway, Julie Andrews, like that was such a pivotal, seminal moment in my life,” the How to Deal actress gushed. “I would love, love, love to join those ladies again, anytime, but I also understand if there’s no room for my awful character.

Raven-Symoné, who played Princess Asana in Princess Diaries 2, had a singular request about a potential third flick.

“Do I get to sing with Julie Andrews again? Yeah, I’m going back on Princess Diaries 3,” the Raven’s Home star said in August 2017 during a BuzzFeed interview. “If I get to sing with Julie Andrews again, that would be awesome! I mean, I’m a Mary Poppins fan, so that’s just heaven for me.”

While Andrews admitted in June 2022 that it might be a little late to revisit the material, she had nothing but glowing memories of her time on set.

“The humor and the understanding of human nature. I think also it was the idea of the story, of course, but [Garry] was incredibly generous,” Andrews told THR. “When I first met him, and I had never met him until the role was being talked about, he asked some fabulous questions, like, where do you think Genovia is? What do you think Genovia is famous for? I said something idiotic like, ‘The nuns in the country would’ve made lace and exported it, and maybe they’re famous for their very beautiful pear trees and their pears.’ Well, we had pears all over the set and lace costumes. He embraced what everyone cared to offer.”

“I’d be thrilled if it would happen, but I can’t think what the story would be now,” Andrews said during a June 2022 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, noting that she thought a sequel would be unlikely since she’s “that much older.”

She added: “There was talk about it many, many years ago but I think it’s gone too far now.”

Though Robert Schwartzman didn’t appear in the 2004 sequel, he hasn’t ruled out a return to the franchise should a third film come to fruition. “People have asked me, like, ‘Would you do another one, if they brought it back? Or they brought that story back?’ Of course, if the producers and the studio felt that that story is going to live on with the same actors,” the Rooney singer told Variety in September 2022. “How cool is it to just be able to have been a part of a movie that really had an impact and still is out in the world?”

In November 2022, the Hollywood Reporter confirmed a third movie of the beloved series is in the works. Sources told the outlet it would be a continuation and not a reboot.