Twilight breakout star Kristen Stewart has been cast as the late Princess Diana of Wales in the biopic Spencer.
Stewart is no stranger to playing real-life individuals as she portrayed the titular character in the 2019 film Seberg, a role that may have gotten her noticed by the producers of Spenser.
The upcoming drama from director Pablo Larrain takes place during a pivotal weekend in the ‘90s when Princess Diana had decided that her union with Prince Charles was longer working and that she would have to execute a series of bold moves that would one day pave the way for her to become queen. The story takes place over the course of three days.
Before her death as a result of a traffic collision on August 31, 1997, Princess Diana’s every move was heavily scrutinized by the press and it took a toll on her marriage to Prince Charles.
In a chat with Deadline, director Larrain had this to say about the project:
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.”
Speaking on Stewart’s casting, the filmmaker stated:
Kristin is one of the great actors around today. To do this well, you need something very important in film, which is mystery. Kristin can be many things, and she can be very mysterious and very fragile an ultimately very strong as well, which is what we need. 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.
I’ve seen movies from Kristin that are so diverse it’s incredible, showing different layers and her diversity and strength as an actress,” he said. “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.”
