BRITSH royal fans have been left outraged over the news that Kristen Stewart has been cast to star as a young Princess Diana.
The Twilight actress will star as Diana in the film called Spencer - her maiden name - which will be set in the early 1990s as she makes the heartbreaking decision to leave her marriage to Prince Charles.
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The film was confirmed on Wednesday at the virtual Cannes Market, with Pablo Larrain, the man behind Oscar-nominated Jackie, in the director's chair.
“Kristen is one of the great actors around today,” he said in a statement.
“To do this well, you need something very important in film, which is mystery. Kristen can be many things, and she can be very mysterious and very fragile an ultimately very strong as well, which is what we need.
"The combination of those elements made me think of her. The way she responded to the script and how she is approaching the character, it’s very beautiful to see. I think she’s going to do something stunning and intriguing at the same time. She is this force of nature."
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However, many admitted they had been left "perplexed" by the choice.
"UM you could find a British actress," tweeted one irate royal fan, with another adding: "Can we just leave Diana alone. I think she's suffered enough."
A third fan tweeted: No. No. Noooo. Please God no! Noooo!"
Other however were ready to give the American actress the benefit of the doubt, with one film fan tweeting: "Kristen Stewart knows a thing or two about the dark side of fame. Never saw this casting coming but I'm into it. Most excited that she's collaborating with Pablo Larraín."
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The film will be set around 1992 during one of her final Christmas holidays in the House of Windsor in their Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
During this weekend, Diana made the decision to divorce Charles and change the course of her life forever.
Larrain added: "When someone decides not to be the queen, and says, 'I’d rather go and be myself', it’s a big big decision, a fairy tale upside down. I’ve always been very surprised by that and thought it must have been very hard to do. That is the heart of the movie.
“How and why do you decide to do that?
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"It’s a great universal story that can reach millions and millions of people, and that’s what we want to do. We want to make a movie that goes wide, connects with a worldwide audience that is interested in such a fascinating life.”
The script was written by Steven Knight, and production is expected to begin in early 2021.
Larrain insisted that the film will not cover her death, which happened on August 31 1997, a year after their divorce was finalized.
He said: "She died years after where our story is set and so we don’t deal with that.
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"It’s only three days of her life and in that very small amount of time, you’re able to get into a wider, bigger perspective of who she was. We all know her fate, what happened to her, and we don’t need to go there.
"We’ll stay in this more intimate space where she could express where she wants to go and who she wants to be."
Kristen, 30, has remained a controversial celebrity, with a huge global fanbase but also many detractors.
She is currently dating screenwriter Dylan Meyer, after high profile romances with Robert Pattinson, Stella Maxwell, and St. Vincent.
Watch the trailer for captivating political thriller, Seberg, starring Kristen Stewart