Freakier Friday Proves Disney Should Finally Make Princess Diaries 3

I’m a professional gamer, which means I’ve spent years yelling at developers to remaster the right old thing and leave the wrong old thing buried in a loot crate. So when I look at Disney’s box office scoreboard in 2026, I feel a very specific emotion: the same one I get when a beloved RPG from my childhood finally gets a proper sequel announcement. Freakier Friday, released on August 8, 2025, has pulled in over $43.8 million. That’s not Avengers money, but for a legacy sequel to an early-2000s body-swap comedy? That’s a critical hit.

Now, I know $43.8 million doesn’t sound like a number that should make a studio CEO spit out their oat milk latte. But context matters. Freakier Friday had a prime summer release date, and it was swimming in a pool full of noisy competitors like The Naked Gun and The Bad Guys 2. It still performed impressively. For Disney, that’s a flashing neon sign that says: original movie sequels can still work. Not everything needs to be a live-action remake of a cartoon you already own on three formats.

The Freakier Friday ending doesn’t explicitly tease another installment. No post-credits scene where Jamie Lee Curtis stares into the camera and whispers, 'Freaky Five-ever.' But if the movie turns a considerable profit, another chapter could absolutely happen. And while that would be fun, the more tantalizing prospect is bigger: Freakier Friday could trigger a trend of other Disney original movies getting legacy sequels. As a gamer, I recognize this pattern. One successful remaster, and suddenly every publisher is digging through its 2004 catalog like a raccoon in a dumpster.

Enter The Princess Diaries. If Disney is looking for its next early-2000s original property to bring back, this is the most logical and profitable candidate. The most recent sequel, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, came out in 2004. By 2026, that’s over two decades of nostalgia. That’s the sweet spot. It’s long enough for audiences to feel sentimental, but not so long that the property feels like ancient history. It’s like waiting for a server to come back online: you’re excited, not confused.

Anne Hathaway is just as popular today as she was two decades ago. Actually, she might be more popular. She’s done huge blockbusters, acclaimed indie movies, and she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Les Misérables. Her 2026 slate includes The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Verity, which makes this the perfect moment to capitalize on her popularity. If I’m Disney, I’m not just knocking on her door. I’m camping outside it with a tent, a portable charger, and a sign that says 'Mia, please.'

Incidentally, Princess Diaries 3 was confirmed back in 2022. But since then? Very little development. It’s possible Disney shelved the sequel to make room for more mainstream projects. Neither Julie Andrews nor Chris Pine have seemingly been approached to help get the project off the ground. That’s wild to me. That’s like having a co-op partner who never joins the lobby. You keep sending invites, and they keep appearing offline.

Thankfully, Freakier Friday gives Disney the perfect excuse to finally get Princess Diaries 3 into development. The studio now has definitive proof that early-2000s reboots can be commercial successes. And The Princess Diaries was always just as popular as Freaky Friday. The original film grossed $165 million upon release, compared with Freaky Friday’s $160 million. That’s not a gap. That’s a photo finish. If Freakier Friday gets a victory lap, Princess Diaries deserves a royal parade.

Here’s a quick gamer-brain comparison:

Of course, I’m not saying Disney should blindly greenlight every dusty IP in its vault. That’s how you end up with a cinematic season pass full of half-baked DLC. But The Princess Diaries has the ingredients: a beloved star, a proven audience, a nostalgic window, and a sequel that was already confirmed before it got stuck in development limbo. Freakier Friday didn’t just succeed as a movie. It succeeded as a proof of concept.

So yes, I want Freakier Friday to get a sequel if the numbers justify it. But more than that, I want it to open the gates for Princess Diaries 3. Let Anne Hathaway return to Genovia. Let Julie Andrews be regal and terrifying in the best way. Let Chris Pine show up looking like he was generated by a 'charming prince' algorithm. I’ll be there opening weekend, probably wearing a hoodie and pretending I’m not emotionally invested in a fictional monarchy.

Disney, you have the data. You have the nostalgia. You have the queen. Stop leaving Princess Diaries 3 in the backlog. Hit continue. I’m ready to preorder my ticket.