Keira Knightley Scarlett Johansson As Princess Diana In “Diana” Biopic?

Former Pirates of the Caribbean actress Keira Knightly and Golden Globe-nominated blonde Scarlett Johansson are in chats to be cast as Princess Diana in a new movie called ‘Diana’ based on the life of the Princess of Wales, film industry informants have reportedly revealed to London’s Daily Mail.

Knightley is at the top of the list of a number of actresses, which includes Johansson, vying to play the royal humanitarian, who perished in a car crash in 1997.

The film, to be produced by English production company Pathe, will chart Diana’s life from her childhood as Lady Diana Spencer in the British country through her turbulent marriage to Prince Charles and her sudden death. Diana is expected to hit theaters in 2011, just in time for what would have been Diana’s 50th birthday, The Mail reports. (Next year is also expected to bring a long-awaited marriage proposal for Kate Middleton, who has been dating Diana’s oldest son, William, for more than five years….)

Dame Helen Mirren, 65, is tipped to play Diana’s mother, Frances Shand Kydd.

“The project is in the early stages, but Pathe has chosen 2011 quite deliberately. It will be in the same vein as their movie ‘The Queen’ and will detail the ups and downs of Diana’s marriage and the early lives of the Princes,” the insider explains.

Scarlett or Keira: Which screen star gets your vote?