‘Princess Diaries 3’ Director Says Fans ‘Can Look Forward to a Lot of Fun Returns’ From the Original Cast: ‘We Just Want to Make the Story Right’

After reprising Andy Sachs in “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” Anne Hathaway will soon bring another one of her iconic characters, Mia Thermopolis, to the big screen.

Adele Lim, who is set to direct “Princess Diaries 3”, told Variety at the Gold Gala carpet on Saturday that the highly anticipated installment is “going well.”

“We just want to make the story right because it is a franchise that is so beloved by so many people,” said Lim, who noted that some of the fans from the 2001 original movie are mothers now, including herself. She explained that motherhood informed her filmmaking as she shifted the narrative from being about a young girl to a more mature woman. “There are so many movies that are wish fulfilment for princesses, we don’t have a lot of wish fulfilment movies for queens. That’s what we are setting out to do here, to show a woman in her full power.”

While Lim says the shooting and production schedule is still being worked out, fans can expect to see Hathaway’s Mia Thermopolis make a return, this time as Queen of Genovia.

“If you were a fan of the original first two movies, I think you can look forward to a lot of fun returns,” said Lim about cast members reprising their roles, adding that the film would take place in the fictional kingdom of Genovia. “We’re going to be able to shoot in Europe and really show the audience Genovia in its full glory.“

It won’t be the only fan-favorite franchise Lim is tackling. The “Crazy Rich Asians” co-writer is executive-producing a sequel series to the 2018 movie, currently in development at HBO.

“We’re very excited because in a TV series we have the opportunity to explore all these different characters that the amazing writer Kevin Kwan brought to life in his book series,” said Lim.

Kwan’s novel trilogy followed the romance of Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) and Nick Young (Henry Golding) as Rachel entered Nick’s elite world of billionaires in Singapore. The first book was adapted for the big screen by Lim and her team, and became a smash hit, earning over $239 million worldwide.

As for the source material of the remaining two novels: “Much like the movie, Kevin Kwan’s books were absolutely like a North Star for us, but he’s also given us permission to explore our own stories,” Lim said about the show’s plot. While unconfirmed if Wu and Golding will be reprising their roles, Lim says, “It’s all being worked out, but yes, that is the intention.”

The Gold Gala, hosted by the non-profit Gold House, celebrates talent across the Asian diaspora in various industries, ranging from tech to entertainment.

Other carpet highlights include actor and comedian Bowen Yang confirming to Variety that his untitled Searchlight project with Matt Rogers about Americans trying to get into the exclusive Berlin nightclub Berghain is still in the works despite them getting “in trouble with the techno community;” the “Deli Boys” cast sharing they fought to include Pakistani Olympian Arshad Nadeem’s javelin in their characters’ on-screen shopping spree (“If somebody gets a ton of money, and goes, ‘I’m gonna buy Michael Jordan’s game shoes,’ what would be our silly version of that?” explained star Asif Ali); and Daniel Dae Kim sharing that his friends are “upset” with him over “K-Pop Demon Hunters”: “Because of you and that movie, I have the soundtrack on in my car non-stop, my kids will not stop playing it!”