The Princess Switch 3 sees Vanessa Hudgens playing multiple doppelgängers - so how were these scenes filmed? The Princess Switch followed Lady Margaret of Montenaro and her look-a-like Stacy (both played by Hudgens) before The Princess Switch 2 introduced another doppelgänger, Lady Margaret’s first cousin, Fiona. With Hudgens playing three different characters, the scenes featuring more than one of these protagonists required careful planning when filming.
In The Princess Switch 3, Netflix’s latest addition to its holiday movie universe, the now-Princess Stacy and Queen Margaret are in the midst of planning festive celebrations when an artifact, the Star of Peace, is stolen. In their hunt for the relic, they enlist the help of their previous adversary Fiona. With the reintroduction of Fiona to the threequel, Hudgens had to juggle playing all three characters, including the scenes where they are together.
As they had done for the two previous Princess Switch movies, Hudgens and director Mike Rohl described how they worked through scenes featuring all three doppelgängers one character at a time. Hudgens, Rohl, and a few other crew members would figure out the actions of the first character and shoot their part before moving on to the next one. When speaking about Hudgens being half The Princess Switch 3's cast in an interview (via Newsweek), Rohl explained that this “allowed Vanessa to deal with her workload in small packages.” It became especially important in scenes where one character was pretending to be another, for example, when Stacy has to impersonate Fiona at her hearing at the convent. By shooting each scene one protagonist at a time, Hudgens could focus clearly on the characters’ “goals, arcs, and tactics.”
During filming, three body doubles were also used to help create the doppelgängers in scenes where they were shown together. From the beginning of the franchise, each body double was assigned a character, with Rebecca Wong playing Margaret, Alexa Lee standing in for Fiona, and Charlotte Coggin becoming Stacy. As part of the Princess Switch cast from the start, they have watched Hudgens’ depiction of each character in detail. In The Princess Switch 3, some scenes required more than one doppelgänger, such as when plans are being made to regain the Star of Peace. When filming scenes like this, the body doubles examined Hudgens’ movements and took notes so they were ready to mimic her gestures. By using the same mannerisms as Hudgens, the body doubles made sure that each character remained distinct and consistent.
It is in post-production that these scenes featuring multiple doppelgängers come to life. The use of special effects blends sequences so that the picture is seamless on screen. Hudgens describes the process as “magic happening left and right.” The return of the third doppelgänger in The Princess Switch 3 meant filming Hudgens’ scenes was complex. However, with the use of planning and body doubles, Netflix pulled off its visual trickery with virtually flawless execution.