It's been more than two decades since The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement gave Mia Thermopolis her foot-popping happy ending with Nicholas, and fans have long been clamoring for a return trip to Genovia. Now, at long last, a third installment is finally on the way... but we must know: Will Chris Pine return?
Pine made his film acting debut as Nicholas, Mia’s enemy-turned-lover, in the sequel. While audiences have been yearning to see the pair together again on the big screen, at first it seemed that Pine had been left out of the loop, telling Today shortly after news broke of the long-awaited sequel, “I don’t know anything.” Today co-hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager were shocked that Pine had not yet been included in any plans for the upcoming film.
“You don’t know anything?” Hager asked.
“The answer is I’ve gotta see,” Pine added. “I don’t know anything about it. I think it’s fantastic.”
But then, in April 2026, franchise author Meg Cabot told an audience at BookCon that “obviously” Chris Pine will be in The Princess Diaries 3. Same goes for Robert Schwartzman, who played Michael, Lilly's brother and Mia's love interest in the first film.
The third Princess Diaries was confirmed in late 2024, with a surprise post from Anne Hathaway shortly after Deadline officially broke the news that Princess Diaries 3 was moving forward, with Adele Lim returning to work with Disney as director. (Lim previously worked with Disney when she wrote the 2021 Disney animated movie Raya and the Last Dragon.)
It would appear Lim is just as excited as the rest of us about the reboot, too. “As a diehard 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 told Deadline. “We look forward to celebrating its core tenets of female power, joy, and mentorship with audiences worldwide.”
Here’s everything that's been said about the threequel so far.
Is there a Princess Diaries 3 script?
Rumors that a third Princess Diaries movie is in the works have been swirling for years. As recently as 2019, Hathaway confirmed that a script was written. "There is a script for the third movie," she said on an episode of Watch What Happens Live. "There is a script. 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."
However, Hathaway did share one caveat: The story would have to be perfect before they reveal it to fans. "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," she 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."
When speaking at BookCon, Meg Cabot also made mention of having read the script. So, we know it exists and that production is underway.
Which other stars have said they would return?
Pine isn't the only Princess Diaries alum who expressed interest in continuing Mia's story. In an August 2023 appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, Mandy Moore revealed she's game for The Princess Diaries 3 — and she even has some ideas about what Mia's high school bully Lana might be up to today.
More than anything, Moore wants redemption for Lana. She told Barrymore that her dream future for Lana involves a friendship with Mia. "She's done a 180," the This Is Us star pitched. "She's turned her life around, and she and Mia become really good friends."
Sadly, in an August 2026 interview with Today, Julie Andrews made it clear she will not be reprising her role as Queen Clarice Renaldi.
“I’m not going to be in it,” she said. “I think the story is slightly different, and I’m not quite sure how they’re dealing with that. But it’s too late for me to do it. I think the story has to continue in Princess Mia. It’s her story. It’s not really mine.”
In past interviews, Andrews expressed she feels the time to make another film in the series passed after director Garry Marshall died in 2016. "I think it would be too late to do it now," she told The Hollywood Reporter last June. "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. [For] especially me, it's too far down the line now to go back to it.”
What would The Princess Diaries 3 be about?
If the stars in Genovia align just right, there are plenty of ways Mia's story could continue, or the baton could be passed to the next generation. By now, Mia and Nicholas could conceivably have royal youngsters the story could follow, or the movie could take on what it means to be a princess in 2022.
While Mia's story concluded with a royal wedding in Cabot's books, the author has written a spinoff series that could serve as inspiration for a third movie or even a TV series on Disney+. In From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess, Mia discovers a half-sister she never knew about, named Olivia. When she shows up on Olivia's doorstep, the tween's entire life changes in an instant — much like Mia's did when she discovered she was a princess.
Since Mia's father died in the movies, it might make more sense for Olivia to be related to Mia in a different way, but the tween angle makes the books a perfect fit for the Disney treatment. Plus, introducing Olivia into the story would make The Princess Diaries 3 nostalgic for original fans and accessible to the next generation of viewers.
Now all that's left is for someone to convince Andrews that Queen Clarisse needs to make one more royal appearance in Genovia for the good of her people... er, make that her fans.
When will The Princess Diaries 3 be released?
We wish we knew, but right now, there’s no clear timeline on when we’ll get to see what’s going on with Mia’s life in Genovia. Anne Hathaway attended this year’s D23 event to be inducted as a Disney Legend. While there, she also provided a bit of an update about the third film. It sounds like production is underway, but everyone is taking their time to make the movie as special as we want it to be.
“Being part of the Disney family also means being part of a legacy studio that deeply values the family audience it makes content for. It’s why we are working so hard to get The Princess Diaries 3 right,” she said, thanking fans for their patience.
Anne, we love you, but we also love Mia Thermopolis. So you just keep us posted, OK?
source https://www.scarymommy.com/entertainment/princess-diaries-3-updates
Comments
Post a Comment