Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie are one of Sundance’s buzziest duos thanks to their performances in “Eileen,” an adaptation of Ottessa Moshfegh’s novel from “Lady Macbeth” director William Oldroyd. “Last Night in Soho” star McKenzie plays a young woman in 1960s Boston who becomes enraptured by an intoxicating older woman, played by Hathaway. McKenzie said at the Variety Sundance Studio, presented by Audible, that she was already in love with Hathaway prior to filming “Eileen” because of “The Princess Diaries.”
“I have always been a big fan of Annie since ‘The Princess Diaries,’” McKenzie said. “That played a big role in my childhood that film. That starstruck kind of feeling really lended itself to the relationship between Eileen and Rebecca because Eileen is in awe of Rebecca, she’s starstruck. When I first met Annie…I was bow down, the queen.”
Variety confirmed in November that Disney was developing a third installment in “The Princess Diaries” franchise with screenwriter Aadrita Mukerji (“Reacher,” “Supergirl”). Neither Hathaway or her original co-star Julie Andrews are confirmed to join the next “Princess Diaries” movie, and Hathaway respectfully wanted to keep her Sundance conversation on “Eileen.”
Julie Andrews told Access Hollywood in December that her return to the franchise as Queen Clarisse would be unlikely, adding, “I think we know that it’s probably not going to be possible. [A third film] was talked about very shortly after [“Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement”] came out, but it’s now how many years since then? And I am that much older and Annie the princess, our queen, is so much older. And I am not sure whether it would float or run.”
The original “Princess Diaries,” based on the novel by Meg Cabot, was released in 2001 and was directed by the late Garry Marshall. Hathaway stars as an awkward American teenager who learns she’s the heir to the throne of the European kingdom of Genovia. Despite mixed reviews, the family film became a box office hit with $165 million in global ticket sales. The first sequel opened in 2004 and introduced the world to Chris Pine. It was equally successful in theaters with $134 million worldwide.
