Anne Hathaway: Is a new 'Princess Diaries' movie happening?

Anne Hathaway available? A third film in Disney's 'Princess Diaries' movie series is rumored to be moving forward. Would star Anne Hathaway return and how would a new movie fit into Disney's new ideas about princesses?

Is a third movie in the “Princess Diaries” series happening? 

The website The Tracking Board reported recently that a new film is currently in the works at Disney and that producer Debra Chase, who produced the first two films, is on board for this film as well. 

[Update: Both Variety and Entertainment Weekly quote unnamed sources as saying a movie is not in the works right now. We'll have to keep an eye out to see if a movie about Mia or her sister Olivia happens down the road.]

The original film series starred Anne Hathaway of “Interstellar” as Mia Thermopolis, a teenager who finds out she is the heir to the throne of a fictional country called Genovia. Actress Julie Andrews portrayed her grandmother, who gives her lessons in how to be a ruler.

The movies are based on the book series of the same name by Meg Cabot and while the first film followed the plotline of Ms. Cabot’s first book in the series, the second had an all-new story.

Will star Ms. Hathaway return? Tracking Board associate editor Clark Allen reports that “sources tell… me that the film may or may not include Hathaway, with an intention to launch a reboot of the franchise.” A possibility for a reboot may lie in a new book being written by Cabot. As we previously reported, Cabot recently published not only a new book for adults that’s about Mia but also the first book in what the author says will be a new series for middle-grade readers. Titled “From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess,” the new books center on Olivia, who discovers she is Mia’s half-sister. If Hathaway isn’t up for a new movie, perhaps a possible new film would center on Olivia.

Whether Mia or Olivia was the protagonist of a new “Princess” movie, the tone of the original series is in line with Disney’s current princesses. While the Disney princesses of decades ago were often poised and charming, Princess Anna of 2013’s “Frozen” is more likely to say, “This is awkward” and that someone “freaked out.” Mia of “The Princess Diaries” was often clumsy and struggled to master skills like speaking in public. A new “Princess Diaries” movie would continue the all-important princess brand but continue Disney’s trend of making their princesses a bit more down-to-earth.