Dame Julie Andrews Passes on ‘The Princess Diaries 3’ for 2 Reasons
The Princess Diaries 3 has received the green light. It is officially in the works. While several key actors, like Anne Hathaway, will be returning to reprise their roles, one key player will be missing. Dame Julie Andrews has taken a pass on reprising her role as Queen Clarisse Renaldi. Andrews, famed for her decades-long acting career, recently opened up about the decision, explaining the age and storyline had her reluctantly passing on the chance to get in front of the camera again.
Dame Julie Andrews says ‘The Princess Diaries’ story no longer needs her
With news of the upcoming threequel being in the works, fans naturally looked to Dame Julie Andrews for confirmation about her role in the flick. They were disappointed. The beloved actor has said she’ll be sitting The Princess Diaries 3 out, allowing the storyline to move on without her. In a sit-down chat with TODAY, the Dame revealed that she thought the storyline was a bit different than one that would require her involvement, noting that the story really is about Mia Thermopolis now. “I think the story is slightly different, and I’m not quite sure how they’re dealing with that,” she said. “But it’s too late for me to do it. I think the story has to continue in Princess Mia. It’s her story. It’s not really mine.”
Andrews also noted that at this point, she considers herself largely retired from acting. Andrews is, after all, approaching 91 this year. She did say it was a difficult decision, claiming she reluctantly passed on the movie. In a previous interview with InStyle, she dug a bit deeper into her thought process and why she made the decision she did, revealing that the film’s creative team had reached out to her about being involved. “I think I probably passed — I think I’m retired, really, would be about the best description for that,” she said, adding, “It was very, very hard to say ‘no,’ but I did because I thought I had a wonderful ride, and this one I felt would flourish very well and wouldn’t need Granny going in there at my age.”
This isn’t the first time she’s addressed a return to acting
Andrews first addressed the question about The Princess Diaries 3 back in December 2022, shortly after news broke that Disney was developing a third film with screenwriter Aadrita Mukerji. Speaking with Access Hollywood, Andrews didn’t rule it out entirely, but made her doubts clear. “I think we know that it’s probably not going to be possible,” she said. “It was talked about very shortly after two came out, but it’s now how many years since then? And I am that much older, and Annie the princess, or queen, is so much older.”
Her comments suggest things might have looked different if an additional movie had been considered years earlier. Back then, Andrews was still acting fairly regularly and was open to the idea of the story continuing. She was much younger at the time, with the first movie premiering in 2001, when Andrews was 65. The second film, released three years later, found Andrews approaching 69. Now that more than 20 years have passed, her acting window has closed, though a couple of years earlier likely would not have changed her decision either.
With The Princess Diaries 3 now confirmed and Anne Hathaway officially attached, fans have turned to speculating about how the film might address Queen Clarisse’s absence. Some fans theorize the movie could center around her character’s death. For now, Disney and the team behind the upcoming film are keeping the storyline under wraps.
