The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star is the latest addition to thePrincess Switch franchise. After following Margaret Delacourt and Stacy De Novo in the first two Netflix originals, the third shines a light on Lady Margaret's cousin, Fiona Pembroke. Vanessa Hudgens does an outstanding job playing all three characters, which led to a lot of questions about the behind-the-scenes work to make it seamless.
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Vanessa Hudgens toldThe Wrapthat if another installment ofThe Princess Switch happened, fans shouldn't get their hopes up about her playing a fourth character. "We’re already at max outrageous here with three characters, we’re just going to keep it at that," she joked. Knowing this much, fans can focus on all the ins and outs ofThe Princess Switch 3instead.
How Did Vanessa Hudgens Film Three Different Characters?
Vanessa Hudgens is the star of the movie, portraying all three main characters. Lady Margaret and Fiona are cousins, whereas Stacy is simply a friend who looks identical to both of them. The three women now change places if they need to, which gave Hudgens more work to do because each character has a different personality and style of speaking. Understandably, fans of movies likeThe Parent Trapwould adoreThe Princess Switch movies.
According toRepublic World,Hudgens filmed each scene one character at a time. After filming Fiona's part, she would leave the set to get in character for Lady Margaret or Stacy, for example. She would then film the next character before changing yet again for the next. Once all three characters were done, they'd get ready for the next scene.
The Third Installment Is The Director's Favorite
Mike Rohl is the director behind all threeThe Princess Switch movies. He and Hudgens have praised each other's work over the past couple of years and appeared to have a great time filming the third installment. Movies revolving around twins or doubles can be tricky, but Rohl learned a lot on set.
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In an exclusive interview withJ-14, Rohl said that the third movie is his favorite for a multitude of reasons. "Keeping the characters and story straight while balancing the cold hard facts of production and schedule does have its traps. However, I enjoyed the advantage of having shot the previous two movies," he noted."
A Connection To Other Netflix Originals
In the past couple of years, Netflix released a slew of original movies based in fictional countries with invented royal families. Fans who watched these holiday originals quickly pointed out that they're all in the same Netflix universe; meaning the made-up lands are name-dropped or shown in each movie.
A Christmas Princewas one of the first originals that introduced the made-up land, Aldovia. Fans of that franchise were excited forA Christmas Prince 3 to see what other Easter eggs would be added, and as it turns out, it wasThe Princess Switch 3 that continued the theme. A characternamedCount Simon of Aldovia appeared in the third installment, connecting both movies and confirming the Netflix universe.
Where Was The Movie Filmed?
The Princess Switch 3 takes place in Lady Margaret's home country,Montenaro. Lady Margaret is one of the most likable characters in the franchise because of her desire to learn and grow outside of being a royal of Montenaro. But sinceMontenaro isn't a real place, where was the movie filmed? According toNational World, the movie was primarily filmed in the United Kingdom, Scotland to be specific.
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The Hopetoun House was used as Lady Margaret's castle, while theEdinburgh Gateway train station is the spot that's transformed into the local airport.
All About The Star Of Peace
The entire premise of the third installment is retrieving the Star of Peace. The Star of Peace hailed from the Vatican and was a special relic for Montenaro's international Christmas festival. Without the Star of Peace, the festival would be ruined, andMontenaro's credibility would be wrecked. To get it back, Lady Margaret hired the help of one of the most evil-genius, intelligent peopleshe knows — her cousin Fiona.
Rohl toldJ-14that the Star of Peace was crafted with care. "Pat Campbell, our Production Designer, oversaw its overall design, but Sam Palladio (Prince Edward)’s brother Mac [Scott] contributed significantly to its final look!” He concluded that it took six weeks tomake and was hand-crafted by a jeweler in Scotland.
What Was The Hardest Part About Filming?
Hudgens' job playing three characters wasn't just difficult because of their storylines or love interests, it was also difficult because each character had a different accent. In a YouTubevideo, Hudgens noted it was remembering all of the accents that were the hardest part.
“It was the going back in forth between the accents and [me] trying to remember if I was American or British, or British pretending to be American, or American pretending to be British,” she said. It should be noted that Hudgens was very convincing with a British accent.
Technology Today Is Amazing
Lady Margaret and Stacy weren't twins, but Hudgens' portrayal of twin-like characters was amazing. She was a true professional who separated each character for the betterment of the movie.
In an interview withComing Soon, Hudgens said that playing three different characters "takes so much longer" than fans can imagine, but it would be nothing without technology. She continued saying, "It’s really cool because with the technology nowadays, I could literally film Fiona's part and then go and change and then film Margaret’s part, and then they can put it together right there on the spot. So it was just magic happening left and right."
Who Doesn't Love A DeletedScene?
Shortly after the movie was released, Netflix Film Club released a deleted scene from the end of the movie. In the ending that made the cut, all three womenare in happy relationships and carry on with the responsibilities of running their respective kingdoms (while Fiona focused on rebuilding a relationship with her mom).
But in a deleted scene shown on YouTube,a different ending was shared. While at the Christmas festival, Lady Margaret and Kevin tell Stacy and Edward that they were expecting not just one baby, but twins. Shockingly, she wasn't alone. Stacy was also pregnant with twins! It's unknown why the scene didn't stick, but it would certainly make filming challenging if a fourth movie came about.
Was The Inspiration Behind The Third Installment Because Hudgens Wanted To Be A Royal?
The 'commoner marries a royal' storyline is atrope that's duplicated every holiday season — especially with Hallmark. It's one of those plots that some people dream about. And due to the movie's success and Hudgens' dedication to her roles,fans can't help but wonder if she too has dreamt of being a royal, which inspired her for the movies.
However, that couldn't be further from the truth for Hudgens. She toldGlamour U.K.,"I would never want to be a royal. The idea of it, the chicness of it, it's cute. But, like, the reality ... I'm just way too goofy."
Playing Three CharactersGave Hudgens Anxiety
Hudgens noted that perfecting and remembering three totally different accents was difficult to do, and portraying three people never got easier, but she did get more comfortable with the process. The actress toldComing Soon,"I feel like getting more comfortable with the fact that people are literally waiting on me to get back onto set with the changes to continue working and filming the movie."
As a professional Hudgens said she is always on time. She continued saying, "Knowing that people are literally sitting around waiting for me to put on a wig and a red lip and become another person gave me anxiety." Her professionalism and dedication to her roles paid off and made it one of Netflix's best original Christmas movies.
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