Going back to the princess well that has traditionally been a breeding ground for its blockbuster hits, Disney has commissioned a new musical feature film from director Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham) that will center around an Indian princess protagonist based on a real-life historical figure. 

The British filmmaker will direct the pic and share a producer credit with Lindy Goldstein (The Nutcracker and the Four Realms), working under her LA-based shingle Lindy Goldstein Productions. Sean Bailey (president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production) is overseeing the project, and Chadha will also co-write the script with Paul Mayeda Berges.

Chadha and Berges are collaborating as scriptwriters on an untitled musical for Aardman, too. Chadha will direct this animated feature film about an elephant who dreams about becoming a Bollywood star. 

Disney’s latest forays into the princess realm include the CG-animated pic Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) and live-actioner Disenchanted, which launched on Disney+ last month. 

The studio has a couple of additional princess projects in the works as well. For 2023, animated film Wish features a 17-year-old princess in an origin story about the wishing star. And in its small-screen pipeline, Disney Branded TV is developing a Sofia The First spinoff series—about a prep academy for princes and princesses—under an extended deal with writer/producer Craig Gerber.

Image courtesy of Martin Kraft via Wikimedia Commons.