Kristen Stewart's performance as Diana in Spencer is already getting Oscar buzz

Kristen Stewart in Spencer
(Image credit: Neon)

The first footage from Spencer, the upcoming Princess Diana biopic, premiered at CinemaCon and, although it hasn't been released to the public yet, some critics were in the room where it happened.

Directed by Jackie filmmaker Pablo Larraín and written by Peaky Blinders' Steven Knight, the movie sees Kristen Stewart portraying Diana, while Jack Farthing is Prince Charles. Set over the course of three days in 1991, it follows Diana as she spends Christmas with the royal family at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk – and decides to end her marriage to Charles after rumors of infidelity. Other cast members include Timothy Spall and Sally Hawkins, although their roles haven't been disclosed yet.

Courtesy of EW, the footage shown at CinemaCon features Diana and Charles playing pool and arguing about one of their young sons shooting with the rest of their family. The pair both struggle to conceal their rage, Charles is evidently annoyed at Diana's refusal to conform to what's expected of her as Princess of Wales.

"There's two of everyone," he tells her. "We are given tasks, you have to be able to make your body do things you hate."

"That you hate?" she repeats. "Yes, for the good of the country," he says. "For the people, because they don't want us to be people. That's how it is. I'm sorry I thought you knew."

And hopes for the movie are already high. Critic Scott Menzel tweeted: "I just saw the teaser trailer for Spencer & a 5 minute clip from the film. Based on the footage, it looks like Kristen Stewart will be getting an Oscar nomination for her performance as Diana. I’m feeling very confident that this is going to be Kristen Stewart’s big moment."

EW's Lauren Huff posted: "I sense an Oscar nod in her future", while Insider's Jason Guerrasio said: "Kristen Stewart is going all out for that Oscar glory."

While we wait for Spencer to arrive on the big screen on November 5 (and see if it lives up to the Oscar buzz), fill out your watch list with our picks of the best Oscar-winning movies of all time.

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.