Disney Appears Set To Return To Genovia For The Princess Diaries 3

In the early- and mid-2000s, Anne Hathaway beguiled audiences young and old as the fish-out-of-water American princess-turned-queen in 2001's "The Princess Diaries" and its 2004 sequel "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement." Both movies engagingly and magically explored the princess fairy tale theme through Hathaway's Mia Thermopolis, with Dame Julie Andrews in fine form as the caretaker of Genovia's throne, Queen Regent Clarisse Renaldi. There was a long stretch of time between the release of the second film and plans for any sort of continuation of the film series. Garry Marshall, the director of the first two movies, met with Hathaway and Andrews in 2016 when both stars agreed to return for a third entry.

That version of the proposed third installment of the franchise never materialized, and its narrative focus has likely shifted completely with the filmmaker's death at the age of 81 in 2018. Audiences will likely never know what direction Marshall would have taken the film in apart from his wish that his two leads as well as Chris Pine, who played Nicholas Deveraux in "Royal Engagement," all return for the third outing. According to Variety, it seems Disney is preparing to return to the Kingdom of Genovia after all, with pre-production already underway for "The Princess Diaries 3." Here are the details.

As revealed by The Hollywood Reporter, Disney has officially announced "The Princess Diaries 3," which will feature a screenplay by Aadrita Mukerji along with Debra Martin Chase returning to produce the new installment after her work on the first two films. The publication also reported that the third entry in the movie franchise will be a continuation of the story and not a reboot of the first two entries, which came out 21 and 18 years ago respectively. Anne Hathaway has not reached a deal to return for the new royal outing, but the actress has spoken about her wish to come back for another sequel, as well as her hope to recruit co-star Julie Andrews to reprise her role.

In an interview with ET Online, the "Rachel Getting Married" star said that she is hoping for the "Mary Poppins" actress to come back to Genovia for the third time. She also funnily shared how a green screen could be used at Andrews' residence if need be to ensure she could comfortably return to the series. Additional details about the sequel to "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement," such as the movie's director, plot details, and official stars were not disclosed. But since the story is set to continue instead of being revamped, audiences can likely expect a possible time jump to account for the nearly 20-year gap between films.