Disney is returning to Genovia.
The studio is embarking on a new installment of the coming-of-age movie series The Princess Diaries, hiring Adele Lim, a scribe who has worked on Crazy Rich Asians and Joy Ride, to direct the feature.
Anne Hathaway, who became a star thanks to the 2001 surprise hit and its 2004 sequel, is expected to return although there is no deal in place.
The studio is planning to shoot the feature next year.
“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,” Lim said in a statement. “We look forward to celebrating its core tenants of female power, joy and mentorship with audiences worldwide.”
Gary Marshall directed the original, which adapted the book by Meg Cabot and told of a teen named Mia Thermopolis who discovers she is heir to the throne of a European nation named Genovia. It falls on her mannered and very royal grandmother, played by the supercalifragilistic Julie Andrews, to get the teen poised and ready for duty. The cast featured Mandy Moore, Heather Matarazzo and Hector Elizondo, among others.
Debra Martin Chase, one of the producers of the original, is back. Naia Cucukov, who is Lim’s producing partner, is an executive producer as is Melissa Stack.
Lim was already in the Disney fold thanks to her working on 2021’s animated feature Raya and the Last Dragon. The scribe cut her teeth as a TV writer, working on shows ranging from One Tree Hill and Life on Mars to Reign and Lethal Weapon, but made a big feature splash as one of the writers of Crazy Rich Asians, the pop culture sensation that grossed almost $175 million domestically in 2018.
She made her directorial debut with Joy Ride, a road trip comedy that starred Ashley Park and Stephanie Hsu, was produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’ Point Grey Pictures, and which was released by Lionsgate in 2023.
Lim is repped by Paradigm and Ginsburg Daniels.
Source: Hollywoodreporter
