Hollywood is making sure we'll have a lot of things to look forward to after lockdown, starting with Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana. The surprising casting was announced via Deadline on Wednesday, as well as details about the film itself. Written by Peaky Blinders' Steven Knight and directed by Jackie's Pablo Larraín, Spencer documents the princess's decision to leave husband Prince Charles and flee royal life.
Specifically, the film takes place over just three days in the early '90s during a Christmas retreat in the House of Windsor's Sandringham estate in Norfolk. It's there she reportedly makes the decision to divorce Prince Charles, which was finalised in 1996.
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“Kristen is one of the great actors around today,” Larraín told Deadline of the Charlie's Angels star's casting. “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."
The timing of the film is apt, considering Prince Harry, son of Diana Spencer, and Meghan Markle recently made their own escape from royal life. The comparison between Princess Diana's experience and the scrutiny of Markle is frequently drawn, and Prince Harry even referenced it in an open letter to the press.
"I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person," he wrote. "I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces."
Production on Spencer is slated to begin in early 2021, and with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Los Angeles now, they better get front-row seats.