It’s been a year filled with royal family-related news, culminating in the birth of Prince George, but this autumn, Hollywood will tackle an altogether more controversial topic – Princess Diana. The first stills from the upcoming film Diana have been released, showing two-time Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts take on the role of the Princess of Wales. The film will span two years in Diana’s life – the final and most controversial days of her life – however Watts claims that the film doesn’t aim at sensationalizing the iconic woman.

Naomi Watts, Summer Party On The Highline
Watts enjoyed the challenge of playing and researching Diana.

"I was nervous going into it and tried my best to say no a couple of times. But I wasn't at peace with that no. I guess I wanted to do it for all the reasons I was against it — the idea of doing this transformation and telling the story of someone who's wildly famous, albeit doing it in a sensitive way. She's a fascinating woman with a fascinating story that obviously ended in such tragedy," Watts said, quoted by USA Today.

Check out the Diana trailer below.

According to Watts, her approach to the life of Diana focused on showing a different side of the princess, instead of just retelling the familiar parts of the story. She explained: "That was why I liked the script. It was a piece of the story I knew nothing about. I learned about it through extensive research. It's hard to discern the truth about this woman. There's so much information available. It becomes very confusing. I had to trust the story. There are facts that the story has been built around.” The film, directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, will be released on September 20th this year.

Naomi Watts, Diana Still
The actress wanted to do the character justice.