Hollywood is gearing up for a royal comeback as ‘The Princess Diaries 3’ moves forward, with director Adele Lim confirming that the long-awaited sequel is “going well” and will bring back fan-favourite characters from the original films. Speaking to Variety at the Gold Gala carpet on Saturday, Lim said the team is focused on delivering a story that honours the beloved franchise. “We just want to make the story right because it is a franchise that is so beloved by so many people,” said Lim, who also noted that many fans of the 2001 original are now parents, including herself.
Lim explained that her perspective as a mother has influenced the direction of the film, shifting the narrative focus toward a more mature phase of its lead character, Mia Thermopolis, played by Anne Hathaway.
“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,” she said to Variety.
Hathaway, who recently reprised another iconic role in ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2,’ is set to return as Mia, now the Queen of Genovia. While production timelines are still being finalised, Lim confirmed the sequel will revisit the fictional kingdom in a grander scale.
“If you were a fan of the original first two movies, I think you can look forward to a lot of fun returns,” Lim said, adding, “We’re going to be able to shoot in Europe and really show the audience Genovia in its full glory.”
Lim is also attached to another major project, a sequel series based on ‘Crazy Rich Asians’, currently in development at HBO.
“We’re very excited because in a TV series we have the opportunity to explore all these different characters that the amazing writer Kevin Kwan brought to life in his book series,” Lim told Variety.
The original 2018 film, co-written by Lim, became a global box office success, earning over USD 239 million worldwide.
It starred Constance Wu and Henry Golding as Rachel Chu and Nick Young, adapted from Kevin Kwan’s bestselling novels.
On whether the original cast will return, Lim said, “It’s all being worked out, but yes, that is the intention.”
She also added, “Much like the movie, Kevin Kwan’s books were absolutely like a North Star for us, but he’s also given us permission to explore our own stories.”
The updates came during the Gold Gala, organised by Gold House, which celebrates Asian diaspora talent across entertainment, technology and other industries.
Among other red carpet moments, comedian Bowen Yang confirmed to Variety that his untitled project with Matt Rogers about Americans trying to get into Berlin’s iconic nightclub Berghain remains in development at Searchlight Pictures, despite them getting “in trouble with the techno community.”
Elsewhere, the cast of Deli Boys revealed they attempted to include Pakistani Olympian Arshad Nadeem’s javelin as part of a comedic on-screen shopping sequence. As per Variety, actor Asif Ali explained, “If somebody gets a ton of money, and goes, ‘I’m gonna buy Michael Jordan’s game shoes,’ what would be our silly version of that?”
Actor Daniel Dae Kim also share a personal anecdote about the film K-Pop ‘Demon Hunters’, saying, “Because of you and that movie, I have the soundtrack on in my car non-stop, my kids will not stop playing it!”
