When it was announced last summer that Kristen Stewart had signed on to play Princess Diana in a new biopic, the internet blasted the casting as a poor choice given the former Twilight actress’ lack of resemblance to the beloved late royal. However, with filming now underway on the movie, titled Spencer, we finally have our first look at Stewart in full costume and makeup as Lady Diana Spencer and she’s totally unrecognizable.
Deadline shared the image, along with revealing that Timothy Spall (Harry Potter) and Sean Harris (Mission: Impossible – Fallout) have joined the cast. Production is currently taking place in Germany before it shifts over to the UK and Jackie director Pablo Larraín is helming the picture from a script by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. It’s noted by the trade that Spencer is possibly the first UK movie to shoot in mainland Europe since Brexit, too.
Spencer focuses on one all-important weekend in Diana’s life, a three-day period in the early 90s where she realized that her marriage to Prince Charles wasn’t working and she needed to make a change. It’ll be set at the Windsor Family’s Sandringham estate, during one of the last Christmas holidays Diana spent with the royals, though it’s currently unknown who’ll be playing Charles opposite Stewart’s Diana and their two children, Princes William and Harry.
The Princess of Wales was previously portrayed on film by Naomi Watts in 2013’s Diana, while Netflix’s The Crown just introduced her in its recent fourth season, as played by Emma Corrin. Season 5 will move forward into a similar period to Stewart’s movie, with Elizabeth Debicki – who many thought should have tackled the role in Spencer – taking over. That won’t be with us until late 2022, however.
Kristen Stewart, who was last seen in Hulu’s smash hit Christmas romcom Happiest Season, recently explained how the film’s title was chosen and said:
“Spencer is a dive inside an emotional imagining of who Diana was at a pivotal turning point in her life. It is a physical assertion of the sum of her parts, which starts with her given name; Spencer. It is a harrowing effort for her to return to herself, as Diana strives to hold onto what the name Spencer means to her.”
Stay tuned for more news on Spencer as and when it comes in.