After two years of uncertainty for whether she'd return to the franchise, Anne Hathaway is officially coming back for Princess Diaries 3 were said to be underway in April 2024.

Hathaway took to her Instagram to confirm her return for The Princess Diaries 3 with a video post. As seen below, the Oscar winner can be seen counting up from one to three, interspliced with clips from the previous movies of her and Julie Andrews' characters exclaiming "Shut up!", before getting to three, in which she says it herself and cuts to a screenshot of the announcement that Adele Lim would be directing.

Hathaway's caption further cemented the fact she would be back for the threequel, as it not only celebrated that "miracles happen", but expressed her gratitude to be going "Back to Genovia" with Lim, Disney and Somewhere Pictures, her production company, confirming that in addition to starring, she will be producing the film. Check out Hathaway's post below:

What This Means For Princess Diaries 3

Hathaway May Be The Key To More Returns

Beyond just finally confirming that the franchise's original lead star is coming back, Hathaway's return for The Princess Diaries 3 is great news for rounding out the movie's cast. As previously noted, Andrews, who played Hathaway's grandmother, Clarisse in the original movies, previously expressed her doubt about returning for the threequel, citing in part the death of original franchise director Garry Marshall in 2016, as well as the long wait to make the third movie.

That being said, with Hathaway not only onboard as a star, but also a producer, she could be the key to convincing Andrews to come back for The Princess Diaries 3. Considering Hathaway's confirmation took this long, it could point towards the star wanting to wait to make sure that the movie would be worth the wait. This could, in turn, mean that the script, now written by The High Note's Flora Greeson, is good enough to sell Andrews and other key figures like Chris Pine, to whom Hathaway's Mia was married at the end of the previous installment, and Héctor Elizondo on coming back.

Our Take On Hathaway's Princess Diaries 3 Return

The Movie Was Never Going To Work Without Her

Though it did always seem unlikely that they wouldn't move forward without her, the confirmation that The Princess Diaries 3 is bringing back Hathaway is a great relief for the movie. Even if she weren't to be the main focus of the film, with a new young woman learning she is actually a long-lost princess, the absence of Hathaway's Mia would still certainly be felt, especially if there were not at least a cameo for her to the torch on to a new young star to carry the franchise forward.

Source: Anne Hathaway/Instagram