Twitter is in a frenzy after news broke out that Kristen Stewart has been cast to play Princess Diana in the hot Cannes virtual market sales project “Spencer”. It will be directed by Pablo Larrain.
The story will take place over three days while spending Christmas at the Sandringham estate in the late 1990s as Diana comes to realise her marriage into the Royal Family has failed and she needs to change her life.
“We all grew up, at least I did in my generation, reading and understanding what a fairy tale is,” the filmmaker said. “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.
There has been a lot of speculation as to why Kristen Stewart was chosen to play Princess Diana. Larraín explained that he chose the Twilight star, 30, to play the Princess of Wales because she “can be many things, and she can be very mysterious and very fragile and ultimately very strong as well, which is what we need.” He added, “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.”
Is there a reason behind the chosen name for the movie? Yes there is. The director told Deadline that he chose the title Spencer after “the family name [Diana] had before she met Charles.” He noted that the timeline of the film is “not specific,” but it is set around 1992 and gives “a wider, bigger perspective of who she was.”
But of course, Twitter has A LOT of opinions – and none of them are nice:
https://twitter.com/TheDeniseFolsom/status/1273472024724332546
https://twitter.com/Radica00/status/1273483166787833857
https://twitter.com/noudi_s/status/1273515601588355072
We do agree that Kristen Stewart lacks the depth and the expression required to play such an iconic personality. We only hope that the casting team knows what they are doing (really, really hoping here). However, it is safe to say that the casting of Kristen Stewart has not been well received anywhere in the world.