New Princess Diana film 'Spencer' will star Kristen Stewart in lead role

18 June 2020, 15:16

Kristen Stewart will play the late Princess Diana in a new film, according to reports.

The movie will be title Spencer, with the 30-year-old Twilight actress set to take on the lead role.

According to Deadline, the film has been scripted by Peaky Blinders writer Steven Knight, and will be directed by Pablo Larrain.

The film will follow a period of time in Princess Diana's life in the early 1990s, when she decided her marriage to Prince Charles was not working.

Set over three days at Sandringham, the film will show Diana deciding to veer away from the royals.

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Speaking of the upcoming film, director Pablo explained: “We all grew up, at least I did in my generation, reading and understanding what a fairytale is.

“Usually, the prince comes and finds the princess, invites her to become his wife and eventually she becomes queen. That is the fairy tale.

“When someone decides not to be the queen, and says, I’d rather go and be myself, it’s a big big decision, a fairytale upside down.

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“I’ve always been very surprised by that and thought it must have been very hard to do. That is the heart of the movie.”

He continued: “We decided to get into a story about identity, and around how a woman decides somehow, not to be the Queen.”

Speaking of casting actress Kristen in the role, he said: “Kristen is one of the great actors around today.

“To do this well, you need something very important in film, which is mystery. Kristen can be many things, and she can be very mysterious and very fragile an ultimately very strong as well, which is what we need.

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“The combination of those elements made me think of her. The way she responded to the script and how she is approaching the character, it’s very beautiful to see. I think she’s going to do something stunning and intriguing at the same time. She is this force of nature.”

He added: “I’ve seen movies from Kristen that are so diverse it’s incredible, showing different layers and her diversity and strength as an actress.

“We’re very happy to have her, she’s very committed. As a filmmaker, when you have someone who can hold such a weight, dramatic and narrative weight just with her eyes, then you have the strong lead who can deliver what we are looking for.”

Spencer is expected to start production in 2021 while the majority of filming is expected to have recommenced.