Christian Schwochow said it was never a “discussion” to include it in the series.
The director of The Crown, Christian Schwochow, has confirmed the sixth season of the Netflix drama will not portray Princess Diana’s dead body.
Schwochow directed three episodes in season 6, with some scenes including the recreation of the death of Princess Diana.
While shots of Elizabeth Debicki in the Paris morgue took place, the director told Deadline there was never a plan for those scenes to be included in the final edit.
“We did film Diana, but very respectfully – not in a big close-up,” Schwochow told the publication.
“It was very, very clear to us that we don’t want to see her dead body. I actually think that it was not a discussion. Not even in the first version of the cut we would ever see her body.”
The director also confirmed that scenes of the crash that involved Princess Diana, Dodi Fayed and Trevor Rees-Jones would not be included in the series.
Season 6 of The Crown will depict the blossoming romance between Diana and Dodi before the fateful car crash, as well as the aftermath and its effects on their families.
Speaking of her portrayal of Princess Diana in the final season, Debicki said: “I think it’s a really unique challenge as an actor, to portray those days. I really just trusted in Peter’s emotional blueprint that he created for us to follow.
“It’s his interpretation and I think it made emotional sense to me, so I clung to that. Because, obviously, it’s devastating and it’s fraught and we can never know.”
Read more:
- The Crown creator has prequel idea and Netflix boss is already on board
- The Crown season 6 trailer gives first look at Diana’s tragic final story
Schwochow told Deadline that there are “so many moments of sadness and grief” in season 6.
“I don’t know how many times I had to cry behind my monitors because it’s so incredibly intense to re-create these moments.
“Not only to re-create them, but to create our truth, which is hopefully as truthful as you can get in fiction.”
The Crown season 6 will stream on Netflix on 16 November and 14 December respectively. Seasons 1-5 are available now. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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