The first look at Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana has been revealed.
The actor is playing Diana Spencer in the aptly titled biopic Spencer. In the picture, Stewart bears an uncanny resemblance to Princess Diana, with her trademark short blonde hair and a serious expression.
"Spencer is a dive inside an emotional imagining of who Diana was at a pivotal turning point in her life," Stewart said of the film. "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."
The film has started principal photography and follows a weekend over Christmas at Sandringham – which sees Diana make the decision to leave Prince Charles. The official plot synopsis reads: "December 1991: The Prince and Princess of Wales' marriage has long since grown cold. Though rumors of affairs and a divorce abound, peace is ordained for the Christmas festivities at Sandringham Estate. There's eating and drinking, shooting and hunting. Diana knows the game. This year, things will be a whole lot different."
Timothy Spall, Sally Hawkins, and Sean Harris will co-star. In a statement, producers Jonas Dornbach, Janine Jackowski, Juan de Dios Larraín, Paul Webster, and director Pablo Larraín said: "We are extremely grateful for the support of our distributors worldwide, our partners and funders who have shown tremendous commitment to us in these extraordinary times. With Kristen Stewart, Steven Knight and the rest of our fantastic team both in front and behind the camera we are bringing Spencer to the world. It is an independently produced film made for the big screen about an iconic woman’s own declaration of independence. We couldn’t be more excited!"
Larraín is perhaps best known for directing the Natalie Portman-starring Jackie Kennedy biopic Jackie, while writer Steven Knight wrote Doug Liman’s 2021 pandemic film Locked Down, as well as Dirty Pretty Things.
Spencer is aiming for a fall 2021 release and will film in the UK and Germany. Check out more of 2021’s movie release dates in the meantime.
