06/22/2026
The girls who grew up watching Mia Thermopolis trip over her own crown are now grown women, and the movie is growing up with them.
"The Princess Diaries 3" is in active development, with Anne Hathaway confirmed to return as Mia. The film is being directed by Adele Lim, who co-wrote "Crazy Rich Asians" and directed "Joy Ride." Flora Greeson wrote the screenplay, and Debra Martin Chase, the producer behind the original two films, is back.
This time Mia is the established Queen of Genovia, a woman fully in her power, years past the awkward San Francisco teenager who found out she was heir to a throne. Lim, who spoke to Variety in May 2026, has framed the project as wish-fulfillment redirected from princesses to queens, and from girlhood to adulthood.
Disney first started developing a third film back in 2022. Lim came aboard in October 2024, with Hathaway confirming her return around the same time. The production scouted castle locations in the Czech Republic in 2025 and is planning to shoot in Europe. Meg Cabot, who wrote the book series the franchise is based on, has been publicly supportive of the project and has said the script is ready.
Chase has said the team is "more than hopeful" and "moving in that direction," adding that they'd hoped to be shooting in 2026. In the same May interview, Lim teased "a lot of fun returns" from the original cast, though she stopped short of naming names.
Fans have spent two decades waiting on this, and the speculation has gotten loud. The biggest fixation is Chris Pine, who played Nicholas Devereaux in the second film and has joked "call Disney!" when asked about returning. Julie Andrews as Queen Clarisse is the other one fans keep circling, though many have made peace with the idea that she might only appear in a small role, if at all. There's also hope for Héctor Elizondo as Joe and Heather Matarazzo as Lily, fueled by Lim's "fun returns" comment. A casting call for a young royal character has sparked theories that Mia might have a daughter in the film.
The mood is mostly excitement cut with a little nervousness. The fans who were teenagers in 2001 are in their 30s now, and most of them want a Mia who's grown up the way they have, without losing the goofy charm that made them love her in the first place.
What's missing is a date. As of June 2026, the film is still in pre-production, cameras haven't started rolling, and no release has been announced. The one thing fans have wanted for 20 years is settled. Everything else is still being worked out.
