Anne Hathaway revealed that the team behind the upcoming The Princess Diaries 3 tried to convince Julie Andrews to return for the highly anticipated sequel, but ultimately respects the veteran actress’ decision not to reprise her role.
“First of all, I just want to say if she has a change of heart, we’re down,” Anne said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
“But we also want to be respectful. For goodness sakes, if anybody has contributed to the world of entertainment and to our collective joy, it’s her. Whatever she wants, we completely understand. We did push really hard to see if she would want to do it," she added.
Julie played Queen Clarisse Renaldi, the grandmother of Anne’s character Mia Thermopolis, in the first two Princess Diaries films.
As for what she hopes the third installment will bring to longtime fans, Anne said she wants the movie to capture the fun and heart that made the franchise special to audiences.
“I just want it to be fun. The women who were six when the first one came out — a lot of whom are now mothers themselves, maybe even with six-year-olds — I want them to feel like they’re bringing their children to something that mattered to them," she stated.
In a recent interview with InStyle, Julie revealed that she would not be returning to The Princess Diaries 3.
"I think I probably passed… I think I’m retired, really, would be about the best description for that,” she said. “[The film’s creative team] asked me all last year if I would be keen to do it. 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."
READ: Julie Andrews reveals she's not returning to 'Princess Diaries 3'
Julie has kept a relatively low profile in recent years, with her appearance at Carol Burnett’s 90th birthday celebration in 2023 among her last major public outings before the event.
Despite largely staying out of the spotlight, the veteran actress has continued working in the entertainment industry. She remains part of Netflix’s hit series Bridgerton, providing the voice of the show’s mysterious narrator, Lady Whistledown.