The Princess Diaries 3: Everything We Know

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.”

Later that day, Hathaway confirmed she’ll be returning for the film, writing on Instagram, “Back to Genovia,” alongside a video of herself quoting the first two movies, “The fairytale continues.”

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.

Ahead, everything we know about the next Princess Diaries, including whether or not Andrews would reprise her role.

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.”