Much like her co-star Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart has had an interesting and eclectic career since leaving the Twilight franchise in the rearview mirror. Her resume is littered with introspective indies, strange little gems, and the occasional tentpole flick like Charlie’s Angels and Snow White and the Huntsman.
Courtesy of Deadline, her next intriguing project has been announced: playing Princess Diana in Spencer. The drama, written by Steven Knight, will be directed by Pablo Larraín, with the goal of shopping it around at the virtual Cannes Market.
According to the report, the script happens across three days, taking place on a critical weekend in Diana’s life in which she realizes that her marriage with Prince Charles isn’t working and resolves to break away from the rigid royal future laid out for her. The drama unfolds during one of her last Christmas holidays in the House of Windsor, set in the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England. The title is taken from Diana’s surname, when she was just Diana Spencer, and not yet Diana, Princess of Wales and future queen of England. Production is expected to start early next year.
Larraín, who grew up in Chile, didn’t quite have the attachment to Princess Diana that those in the UK, U.S. and parts of Europe had. But he grew up with the idea of fairy tales and feels that the story of Diana is that of a real-life fairy tale turned into tragedy:
“We all grew up, at least I did in my generation, reading and understanding what a fairy tale 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 fairy tale upside down. 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.
How and why do you decide to do that? It’s a great universal story that can reach millions and millions of people, and that’s what we want to do. We want to make a movie that goes wide, connects with a worldwide audience that is interested in such a fascinating life.”
I admit, when I first heard the news of Stewart’s casting, it didn’t sit right with me. I couldn’t make the math work in my head. But after thinking on it, I’ve come around. Many of Stewart’s roles have been deeply introspective, characters with rich inner lives. That quality will suit playing the introvert Diana. Snow White and the Huntsman shows that Stewart, whose characters are often a bit hard-edged, can dig up a well of gentleness and a maternalistic sort of love when need be – necessary for Princess Di. With her having reluctantly lived in the spotlight thanks to the massive success of Twilight, as well, Stewart can understand why Diana felt hounded and without a life to call her own.
I’m also intrigued by the fact it’s Steven Knight writing the script. There’s no way to avoid the fact that his last feature script was, well…Serenity. Yes, the virtual sims fishing game movie. But he’s also the brilliant writer behind Peaky Blinders and Taboo, so I’m hoping he channels more of that in Spencer.
