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The age of reboots and revivals is currently upon us and no matter how many Hollywood churns out, it hasn’t gotten old (yet). There have been some flops, but nostalgia is a truly powerful thing that can make a lot of reboots work really well. Now, the rumor mill is talking about a Princess Diaries spin-off, something fans have wanted for a while.

Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway at 'The Princess Diaries Premiere' After Party.
Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway at ‘The Princess Diaries Premiere’ After Party | SGranitz/WireImage

There’s a rumor that a spin-off of ‘Princess Diaries’ is in the works

According to The DisInsider, sources at the site The Illuminerdi say that instead of a Princess Diaries 3, a spin-off of the film is in the works at Disney. Specifically for Disney+, this series or movie wouldn’t necessarily follow Mia Thermopolis in Genovia but will focus on another member joining her family. 

The synopsis that they’re working with right now according to the rumor is a story about “a biracial teenage girl discovering that Mia is her half-sister and moving to Genovia to live with the royal family.” Allegedly, the script will be written by Lorna Osunsanmi, a writer for The CW’s All American.

Is Anne Hathaway or Julie Andrews attached?

This is the first time rumors have circulated with a specific plot and that connects it to Disney+. But it’s not the first time that a continuation of the Genovian royal’s story was discussed. Last year, in January 2019, Anne Hathaway was asked about a third movie on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen and she was very confident a movie was in the works. 

“There is a script. I wanna do it, Julie [Andrews] wants to do it, Debra Martin Chase our producer wants to do it,” Hathaway said on the show. “We all really want it to happen, 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. It’s important to us as it is to you, and we don’t want to deliver anything unless it’s ready. But we’re working on it.”

It’s been a year since she said that and no further news has been added, other than Julie Andrews confirming that she’d be interested if Hathaway “would like” for her to be in it. “I don’t think the script’s even been written,” Andrews told Entertainment Tonight in October. “I don’t think anyone is yet sure of when, what, where, how.”

This isn’t the first time that a sequel or more has been talked about for ‘Princess Diaries’

A third film in the Princess Diaries series was talked about even earlier than last year, too. Before director Gary Marshall passed away in 2016, he told People that it was something he’d discussed with Hathaway. “I was with Anne Hathaway a couple weeks ago, it looks like we want to do Princess Diaries 3 in Manhattan,” he said.

She was pregnant at the time, so they couldn’t do it yet, but it was telling that it was going to take place in America. Could Mia give up her crown? Or possibly come looking for her half-sister (if that plot was always a part of the plan)? 

Other actors from the original films are also interested

Heather Matarazzo, who played Mia’s best friend Lilly, told Cosmopolitan, “If Annie and Julie are down, of course.” Mandy Moore, who currently stars in This Is Us and was the bully Lana in the first movie, told Elle that there wasn’t a role for her that she could think of. But she’d be down for a cameo to redeem her mean girl character. “I would like to see this woman evolve,” she said. “If I’m going to be involved, I would be down for a cameo—maybe she could make amends with Mia and apologize for being a bully when she was younger. She was insecure, going through a difficult time in her life and [has now] reflected on why that wasn’t okay.”

And lastly, Chris Pine, who was the dreaming Nicholas Devereaux, was very enthusiastic in 2016 when a fan asked about a third film. “Have you been reading my diary???” he responded, according to Entertainment Weekly. 

There are a lot of factors that go into such a big project with so many massive actors. But, if the story focuses more on a new Renaldi, with cameos or smaller parts for the original cast, it could happen. However, a Princess Diaries without Anne Hathaway as the lead might be harder to sell to hardcore fans.

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