Anne Hathaway is revealing that she “did push really hard” trying to get Julie Andrews to reprise her role as Queen Clarisse Renaldi in the upcoming third Princess Diaries installment.
During a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight after receiving her Disney Legends Honor at the D23 Expo, the Oscar winner reacted to Andrews saying she doesn’t “think I should be a part of” Princess Diaries 3.
“First of all, I just want to say if she has a change of heart, we’re down,” Hathaway said. “Just anything, really. But we also want to be respectful. Like, for goodness sakes, if anybody has contributed to the world of entertainment and to our collective joy, it’s her. Whatever she wants, we completely understand.”
However, The Odyssey actress added, “We did push really hard to see if she would want to do it.”
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month, Andrews explained why she doesn’t see herself stepping into Queen Clarisse Renaldi’s shoes again. “I think the absolute truth is that I think I’m really past all that now,” The Sound of Music star confessed. “I’m not completely retired, but it’s a different kind of work that I do these days — [writing] books, and I do a lot of recording of podcasts and voiceovers. But truly, I don’t think I should be a part of it.”
While details surrounding Princess Diaries 3 are being kept under wraps, the movie is set to be a continuation of the film series, which centers on Mia Thermopolis (Hathaway), who finds out that she is the heir apparent to the throne of Genovia. At the end of the second installment, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, Mia is crowned the queen of Genovia single after Parliament abolishes the law requiring that a queen be married first. However, she also finally gets together with Nicholas Devereaux (Chris Pine) after calling off her wedding to Andrew Jacoby (Callum Blue).
Hathaway also told ET that she just wants the third installment “to be fun” for those who have been fans since the original film released in 2001.
“I want the women who were six when the first one came out — a lot of whom are now mothers themselves, maybe even with six-year-olds — I want them to feel like they’re bringing their children to something that mattered to them, a core memory for them, something that was a part of their heart and their lives,” she said. “And that means doing it justice. And that means taking the time that it takes to really build it right. That’s a lot of pressure, but I feel like this is a great team.”
Adele Lim has been tapped to direct the feature, with Flora Greeson writing the script. Aadrita Mukerji had written an earlier draft of the screenplay before the production team pivoted in a different direction.