Princess Diana's death in 1997 changed the world.
24 years later, Diana is being memorialized in A Netflix Special Presentation of the Broadway musical Diana: The Musical. Director Christopher Ashley had this to say about the special:
"What an amazing new opportunity to reach a broad worldwide audience and to send it out to people who are not yet a theatre lover who maybe will become one."
The Netflix Special Presentation is a professionally shot version of the musical which stars actress Jeanna de Waal in the title role. It's streaming now on Netflix.
But that's not the only way her memory is being kept alive. CNN is releasing a docuseries which looks back on Diana's life through a contemporary lens. The six-part series focuses on Diana's legacy as a feminist icon.
The world followed her every move, but no one understood the person behind the Princess. Go inside the incredible life of Princess Diana in\u00a0the new CNN Original Series\u00a0#DianaCNN, premiering Sunday, October 10th at 9 p.m. ET/PTpic.twitter.com/18RmeNU9rj— CNN (@CNN) 1631633414
The premiere episode "The Girl from Norfolk" will take a deep dive into Diana's untold childhood. Followed by five episodes called "Royal Rivalries", "Di-Mania", "A Royal Rogue", "The Price of Freedom", and "Her Legacy Continues", respectively. They all chronicle the remainder of her life up until the point of her untimely death. Diana on CNN premieres Sunday October 10th at 9:00pm ET.
Additionally, Diana is getting the biopic treatment with Kristen Stewart portraying the legendary princess.
From director Pablo Larraín comes Spencer. Larraín gained recognition in 2016 for his direction of Jackie which similarly depicted the life of Jackie Kennedy. The biographical film follows Princess Diana over the course of three days in 1991. It focuses specifically on her decision to end her marriage with Prince Charles.
"Everyone's perspective is different and there's no way to get anything right because like what is fact in relation to personal experience. My movie takes place over like three days and it's this like really poetic internal imagining of what that might've felt like rather than like giving new information. So, we kind of don't really have a mark to hit. We also just love her."
That was Stewart on Spencer. Stewart is no stranger to the silver screen. She has a BAFTA under her belt and recognition from audiences around the world. She is already getting Oscar buzz for a potential Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. We'll just have to wait and see. Spencer hits theaters November 5th 2021.
If you're wondering why all of these major projects are coming out at the same time, you're not alone. Our co-host Sonia Isabelle sat down with our royal insider Rob Shuter to get to the bottom of it.
"Diana has almost gotten larger since she passed. This has happened actually with quite a few celebrities that passed away very young. Marilyn Monroe is a really good example. When celebrities are gone, the desire to still keep them alive is really great. We're seeing this with Diana obviously with the new film and also the broadway show."
When asked if it's just a coincidence that all of this Diana content is coming out now, Shuter said:
"It's sort of building up to Diana's anniversary here. So there's always an anniversary for Princess Diana. She obviously is still a massive celebrity. There is always gonna be interest in her. So, the new movie, the broadway show, it's not gonna be the last. We're also gonna see I think maybe a book."
Shuter continued about whether or not we will hear reaction from her sons:
"Harry and William have not said anything officially about the film or the Broadway play. But I can tell you exclusively that the producers of the Broadway show have invited Harry and Megan to opening night. They will be in New York. It is probably unlikely, but the invite is out."
