Kristen Stewart Cast as Princess Diana in New Biopic 'Spencer'

Kristen Stewart is ready for her next royally exciting film role. According to Deadline, the Twilight actor will play Princess Diana in Pablo Larraín's upcoming Spencer. The film is expected to begin production in early 2021 and will take place over three days as Diana realizes that she needs to end her marriage to Prince Charles. It will also feature one of Diana's final Christmas holidays in the House of Windsor in their Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, England.

Not only is Larraín directing the film, but he is producing it, as well. He previously directed films such as Jackie, which starred Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy, and Neruda. Larraín explained in a statement to Deadline that Spencer will serve as the antithesis to the fairy tale trope that many grew up on. "We all grew up, at least I did in my generation, reading and understanding what a fairy tale is," Larraín explained. "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."

As for why he chose to cast Stewart in the role of Diana, Larraín explained that the actor's ability to express an array of different emotions onscreen is perfect for what he has planned for Spencer. "Kristen is one of the great actors around today," Larraín said. "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 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."

Larraín continued to say nothing but kind things about Stewart and her onscreen talents. He noted that he and the rest of the Spencer team are incredibly happy to have her on board the project. The director added, "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."