The Princess Diaries universe is officially returning to our lives, with Disney confirming that The Princess Diaries 3 is officially in the works.
And with the highly-anticipated sequel coming 24 years after the original first hit our screens and 21 years after Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, the third instalment could take any direction.
"Miracles happen," Anne Hathaway, now 42, posted to Instagram last year, confirming the news that she would be returning to her iconic role of Mia Thermopolis. "Back to Genovia... the fairy tale continues."
And with Crazy Rich Asians director Adele Lim officially signing on to the project, updates around the developing sequel have been making non-stop headlines.
This week, Lim appeared to give a major update about the upcoming project as she posted an open casting notice to her Instagram page.
"To all Princesses-in-the-making, consider this your formal invitation to the ball," Lim captioned the casting call, looking for an actor to play new role, 15-year-old Olivia Robinson.
"Smart, sarcastic, armored and observant, Olivia Robinson wants to be left alone," reads the character description. "After her mother passed away, she withdrew into herself, masking her sadness with caustic wit. But under her prickly exterior, Olivia's natural warmth, compassion and courage to stand up to power is exactly what makes her a natural born leader. The only thing standing in the way is herself."
And while the character of Olivia Robinson is new to the film franchise, she does already exist in Meg Cabot's book series, particularly 2015 novel, The Princess Diaries, Volume XI: Royal Wedding.
Her inclusion could therefore be a major hint about the upcoming film's plot, with the 2015 novel seeing Mia Thermopalis discover that she has a half-sister named Olivia. And later in the book, the Queen of Genovia even fights for custody of her half-sister, upon hearing about her difficult home life.
This marks the first casting update from the project, with little known so far about the highly-anticipated sequel. However, multiple A-listers from the original cast have confirmed in the past that they would be open to reprising their roles.
"I think I would [do it]," Julie Andrews has previously said of returning as her iconic character, Clarisse Renaldi, in a 2020 interview with The Talk. "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 sure I’d be up for it."
"If Annie and Julie are down, of course," stated Heather Matarazzo, who played Lilly Moscovitz, via Cosmopolitan. And even Chris Pine has confirmed that he would be open to reprising his role as Nicholas Devereaux from the 2016 sequel. In fact, when asked by a fan, "Don’t you pray every night for a Princess Diaries 3?", the actor replied: "Have you been reading my diary?"
Well, this is extremely exciting.
We will continue to update this story.
