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Where the project stands
The table separates what has been stated on the record from what remains unannounced. Each status is tied to the report that supports it.
| Item | Status | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Development | In development. The script was restarted in a new direction. | Anne Hathaway, reported by TheWrap from a July 2026 interview |
| Director | Adele Lim | Lim’s 2026 interviews, including Variety Australia |
| Release date | Not stated in reports through October 2026 | No studio or distributor announcement found |
| Filming start | Had not begun, per ELLE’s August 2026 report. Lim said in May 2026 that the schedule was still being worked out. | ELLE, August 2026; Lim, May 2026 |
| Anne Hathaway as Mia | Said to be returning | Hathaway, July 2026, as reported by TheWrap |
| Julie Andrews | Will not appear | Andrews, quoted in ELLE, August 2026 |
| Other cast | Not officially announced. Lim referred only generally to “fun returns.” | Lim, 2026 interviews; TV Insider/Swooon report of Meg Cabot’s BookCon remarks |
| Plot | Not confirmed. The only stated aim is a queen’s perspective with Mia in full power. | Lim, Variety Australia interview, 2026 |
Development: what the script restart means
In a July 2026 interview, Hathaway said: “I can say I think we had a story breakthrough.” She added: “I think that we’re moving in the right direction. The script that we were working on had, you know, we kind of had to start over with this new direction, which is not the update I think anybody wants. But we all feel really good that this is going to be the one.”
That is real progress on the writing, but it is not a finished screenplay or a production start. A restart also means the project’s timeline has moved. Hathaway also joked that she was unsure when she could make the film. That remark did not set a date, and no reporting since has done so.
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Story direction: a film about a queen
Lim has framed the sequel as a wish-fulfillment story for queens rather than princesses. Her comments to Variety Australia were: “There are so many movies that are wish fulfilment for princesses, we don’t have a lot of wish fulfilment movies for queens. That’s what we are setting out to do here, to show a woman in her full power.”
ELLE’s 2026 anniversary feature reports that Lim described the film as drawing on the wider franchise universe and a next generation of characters, while cautioning that it will not follow the books exactly. Those remarks are a useful signal about tone and scope. They are not a confirmed plot, so theories about specific scenes, romances or villains should be treated as speculation until a studio or the filmmakers describe the story directly.
Cast: what is confirmed and what is not
Anne Hathaway
Hathaway has said she is returning as Mia, and Lim has described Mia’s position as Queen of Genovia. Hathaway’s statement is the strongest on-record confirmation of any returning cast member, but it is her own account of her involvement, not a studio casting announcement.
Julie Andrews
Andrews will not be in the third film. ELLE quoted her in August 2026: “I’m not going to be in it.” Her absence is the one departure that has been stated directly.
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Other returning cast
Meg Cabot reportedly told BookCon attendees that she had read a script and that there was a part for everybody. TV Insider and Swooon reported those remarks but also noted that no official cast announcement had been made. Treat any character names Cabot mentioned as her description of the script, not as confirmation that actors have signed on.
The source material and the original film
Disney’s official page lists the first film as released on August 3, 2001. It follows Mia Thermopolis as she learns she is a princess, and it credits Meg Cabot among its writers. The film is based in the world of Cabot’s diary-style novels, but it is not a page-for-page adaptation, and Lim has said the third film will take its own approach to the franchise.
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Readers who want the background before the sequel can start with the Meg Cabot novels, which are the origin of Mia’s story.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to judge future news
- Treat a studio or distributor announcement as the first confirmation of a release date or filming start. Interview remarks about schedules, including Lim’s May 2026 comments, do not establish dates.
- Check whether a cast claim comes from the actor or director speaking on the record. Hathaway’s and Andrews’s statements are on the record; secondhand accounts of a script are not.
- Separate plot hints from plot. A theme such as a queen’s perspective is confirmed as a creative aim, not as a storyline.
- Look at the date on each report. The statements above are current only as of the reporting cited in the table.
Until a studio issues an announcement, the most reliable updates will come from Hathaway and Lim’s interviews and from ELLE, which has tracked the production status.
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