Anne Hathaway Pushed "Really Hard" To Get Julie Andrews Back For Princess Diaries 3 — But The Icon Said No 👑💔

Stop scrolling, because we need to talk about the Princess Diaries 3-shaped hole in all our hearts. Anne Hathaway just confirmed that Julie Andrews will NOT be returning as Queen Clarisse — and honestly? We're not okay.

The 'Devil Wears Prada' star opened up to Entertainment Tonight at D23 about the franchise's third installment, revealing that Disney didn't just casually ask the 92-year-old icon to come back. They REALLY tried.

"First of all, I just want to say if she has a change of heart, we're down," Hathaway said. "But we also want to be respectful. For goodness sakes, if anybody has contributed to the world of entertainment and to our collective joy, it's her. Whatever she wants, we completely understand. We did push really hard to see if she would want to do it."

The Queen Has Spoken

Yes, really. Julie Andrews herself confirmed she's passed on the role, telling Today earlier this year that she's basically retired from acting at this point.

"I think I probably passed… I think I'm retired, really, would be about the best description for that," Andrews said, according to Variety. "They asked me all last year if I would be keen to do it. It was very very hard to say 'no,' but I did because I thought I had a wonderful ride, and this one I felt would flourish very well and wouldn't need Granny going in there at my age."

The Tea ☕

• Anne Hathaway is reprising her role as Mia Thermopolis for Princess Diaries 3
• Julie Andrews has officially passed on returning as Queen Clarisse, saying she's retired
• Disney and Hathaway "pushed really hard" to get her back, but the door is still open if she changes her mind
• Andrews told them the movie "would flourish very well" without her

But Anne's Got Her Priorities Straight

While we're absolutely devastated about the lack of Queen Clarisse energy, Hathaway's heart is in the right place. She wants Princess Diaries 3 to hit ALL the nostalgia buttons for the original fans — many of whom are now parents themselves.

"I just want it to be fun," Hathaway explained. "The women who were six when the first one came out — a lot of whom are now mothers themselves, maybe even with six-year-olds — I want them to feel like they're bringing their children to something that mattered to them."

And THAT just made us tear up a little bit. 🥺

The Door Isn't Completely Closed

Here's the silver lining: Hathaway made it crystal clear that if Julie Andrews ever has a change of heart, the entire production would roll out the red carpet (literally). The offer is still very much on the table.

Look, we get it. Julie Andrews has earned the right to retire from literally anything she wants. The woman gave us Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, AND taught us all how to walk with books on our heads. She's a legend, and if Granny wants to sit this one out, we have to respect it.

But also... can someone please show her all the fan tweets begging for her return? Just, like, casually? 👀

Sources:

• Variety

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Are you Team "Respect Julie's Decision" or Team "One More Movie Please"? Sound off in the comments below! 👇