Julie Andrews says she "probably" won't return as Queen Clarisse in Princess Diaries 3
"I think we know that it's probably not going to be possible," Julie Andrews said about reprising her Princess Diaries role
Looks like Queen Clarisse Renaldi has fully retired from all royal duties. Academy Award winner Julie Andrews, who portrayed her mattress surfing majesty in The Princess Diaries films, has expressed “doubt” in reprising the role for the upcoming third installment, per a recent interview with Access Hollywood.
“I think we know that it’s probably not going to be possible,” said The Sound Of Music actor. “It was talked about very shortly after [The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement] came out, but it’s now how many years since then? And I am that much older and Annie [Hathaway] the princess, or queen, is so much older. And I am not sure where it would float or run.”
“In terms of us doing it, I doubt that now,” added Andrews during the conversation.
Rumors began floating around the internet of Andrew’s return to the franchise when it was revealed last month that a script for a new Princess Diaries film was being written by Aadrita Mukerji (Supergirl). Described as a full-on continuation of the first two films and not a reboot, there is one major issue in terms of continuing Mia Thermopolis’ story: although she’s expressed interest, Anne Hathaway has yet to sign on to the project. A Princess Diaries movie can’t have both their royal figures gone, so Disney better get to work on some contacts, stat!
The discussion around a third Princess Diaries film has been going on for the last few years (The A.V. Club first reported on a possible sequel way back in 2016), as has Andrews’ thoughts on coming back for the project. In 2016, Andrews responded to the rumored script on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, saying, “The truth is I haven’t heard. There’s been talk about it for quite a while.”
Later on, Andrews further illustrated her thoughts on returning as Clarisse in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter earlier this year.
“I think it would be too late to do it now,” said the Bridgerton narrator. “There was talk of a sequel many, many years ago. But I don’t think it ever came to pass. And Garry [Marshall] then did leave us. [For] especially me, it’s too far down the line now to go back to it. It’s a lovely thought, but I don’t think it would probably be possible.”
While Andrews seems pretty set in stone about not coming back in The Princess Diaries 3, perhaps she could pop in for a breezy credits scene, showing the former Queen of Genovia enjoying her well-deserved retirement with Joe the Bodyguard.