Fans haven’t seen the last of Anne Hathaway’s Princess Mia Thermopolis.
During a recent appearance on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Hathaway revealed that The Princess Diaries 3 is currently in the works. “There is a script for the third movie,” Hathaway said in response to a fan who called in to ask for an update on the rumored sequel to the romantic comedy film series.
Hathaway also added that fan-favorite character Queen Clarisse Renaldi, played by Julie Andrews, is also up for the movie. “I want to do it. Julie wants to do it. Debra Martin Chase, our producer, wants to do it. We all really want it to happen,” Hathaway said.
Though Hathaway and her colleagues can’t wait to go back to Genovia, she said that they are taking their time in developing the sequel. “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,” the New York City-born actress said. “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.”
The first The Princess Diaries movie premiered on August 3rd, 2001. Directed by Gary Marshall, the flick follows Hathaway’s Mia, a shy American teenager who learns that she is heir to the throne of a European kingdom. Under the tutelage of her estranged grandmother Queen Clarrise, Mia must decide whether she wishes to claim the throne she has inherited or abdicate her title permanently.
After the original film grossed over $165 million worldwide, the sequel The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement was released on August 11th, 2004 to similar success. Twelve years later, Garry Marshall, the director of the first two films, announced that Hathaway would appear in a third Princess Diaries film after she gave birth to her first child. But when Marshall passed away on July 19th 2016, the project had been pulled inadvertently.
However, a month later, Héctor Elizondo, who portrays Queen Clarisse’s head of security in the franchise, told Variety Latino that the possibility of the third film being produced is still high despite Marshall’s death. “I know Anne would like to do it. I know Julie would like to do it. I would like to do it. So we’re on board, it’s a question of when and a question of getting a good story. I’m ready!” the actor said. “It’s time to go back to Genovia!”
Though Hathaway didn’t mention how far along the script for the third installment was or when the movie might hit theaters, fans are hoping that it would happen sooner than later.
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