COMING ATTRACTIONS

The First Look at Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana is Here

It's uncanny.


Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana
via Neon Films

The first press teaser photo of Kristen Stewart portraying Princess Diana has just been released, and the similarity is uncanny. At first glance, one might assume they’re looking at a historical photo of the princess — but, nope, it is indeed Stewart, costumed in a bright red tweed jacket, black scarf tied into a bow, and a wide-brimmed black hat with a dramatic net veil. Her hair has been painstakingly styled to reproduce Princess Diana’s iconic blond mushroom cut with soft waves framing her cheeks. .

Spencer, the upcoming biographical film directed by Pablo Larraín, touches on the more difficult years of Diana’s life. In the early 90s, her marriage to Prince Charles was on the rocks, with rumors of infidelity, the difficulties of caring for their children while balancing royal duties, and feeling iced out by the royal family. Stewart herself reflected on Diana’s struggles: “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,” she said in a release. Larraín has previously described the film as “an upside down fairy tale.”

In this film still, Stewart as Diana is contemplating divorcing Prince Charles. It is Christmas at the royal family’s Sandringham Estate, but Stewart captures the haunting pain that Diana must have felt as her struggles played out in the public eye.

Larraín also directed Neruda and Jackie, so he’s well-versed in captivating biopics. The film has just begun its principal photography, and if the styling is this good, we can only anticipate how great the finished product will be. Spencer is expected to be released in fall 2021.

Related: Actually, Kristen Stewart “Relishes” Being Photographed With Her Girlfriend