“Whatever she wants, we completely understand,” Hathaway said ahead of her Disney Legends ceremony.

Anne Hathaway says she ‘did push really hard’ for Julie Andrews to do The Princess Diaries 3

“Whatever she wants, we completely understand,” Hathaway said ahead of her Disney Legends ceremony.

By Marina Watts

Marina Watts

Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek.

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August 19, 2026 2:23 p.m. ET

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Anne Hathaway at ‘The Odyssey’ premiere in London in July 2026; Julie Andrews in ‘The Princess Diaries’. Credit:

Grant Buchanan/Dave Benett/WireImage; Buena Vista Pictures

- Anne Hathaway revealed that she did push for Julie Andrews to be part of *Princess Diaries 3*.

- “If anybody has contributed to the world of entertainment and to our joy, it’s her,” Hathaway gushed of Andrews.

- Hathaway and Andrews starred in the 2001 and 2004 *Princess Diaries *movies as Mia Thermopolis and Queen Clarice Rinaldi, respectively.

Anne Hathaway did truly try to get Julie Andrews on board for *Princess Diaries 3**.*

The Oscar winner opened up about the legendary actress’ decision to sit out from the upcoming third installment after previously appearing in *The Princess Diaries *and *Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement* in 2001 and 2004, respectively.

“First of all, I just want to say if she has a change of heart, we’re down,” she told *Entertainment Tonight** *ahead of her Disney Legends ceremony at the 2026 D23 event when asked about Andrews, 90, not returning.

“But we also want to be respectful...for goodness sakes, if anybody has contributed to the world of entertainment and to our joy, it’s her. Whatever she wants, we completely understand.”

Added Hathaway, “We did push really hard to see if she would want to do it.”

Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway at ‘The Princess Diaries’ premiere after party in July 2001.

SGranitz/WireImage

She also spoke about the Disney moment that changed her life, meeting Garry Marshall, who directed the *Princess Diaries *films and died in 2016.

“The connection that I felt with him and that he trusted me with this character and he trusted me to be the young actor that was going to stand opposite legend Julie Andrews.”

She added, “The way he just the way he gave me everything, so much love, so much understanding, so I felt so safe on that set. And I think — you know, the world being the world — I think any place that brings you joy and safety feels like magic. And if that’s Disney magic, then that’s my kind of magic.”

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The *Sound of Music** *star broke the news about not returning for the upcoming movie as Queen Clarice Rinaldi alongside Hathway’s Mia Thermopolis in a recent interview.

“I’m not going to be in it,” Andrews told *Today** *of the third film. “I think the story is slightly different, and I’m not quite sure how they’re dealing with that. But it’s too late for me to do it. I think the story has to continue in Princess Mia. It’s her story. It’s not really mine.”

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Hathaway told *** *about Andrews’ decision to sit out of the third film while gushing about the actress. “She’s so warm, and she’s so gracious, and she’s so funny,” Hathaway shared earlier this month, adding that she would miss her “sense of humor” on set.

“She brings magic with her wherever she goes. She’s this amazing love conductor,” Hathaway continued. “People feel so safe loving her, and she’s so beautiful at receiving love and giving it back to people. And who doesn’t want to be around people like that.”

Larry Miller, Anne Hathaway, and Julie Andrews in ‘The Princess Diaries’.

Months earlier, Hathaway gave *** *a promising update on the third movie in April. “We’re constantly working on it,” she said at the time. “Expectations are very, very high, and if you’re going to do it, you have to knock it out of the park.”

Meg Cabot, the author of the young-adult book series that inspired the films, also revealed that she had read the script and it’s “amazing.”

“I told them not to send anymore, because I love it so much. They don’t like it when you tell people what’s gonna happen yet. So I was like, ‘Better not send me any more scripts!’” she told *The Hollywood Reporter*.

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Source: “EW Movies”