What happens when the First Son of the United States and the Prince of England fall in love? We're about to find out. The Red, White & Royal Blue movie is officially on the way.
The film adaptation of the beloved gay rom-com novel landed its two leads and wrapped production across the pond, which means we're a few steps closer to seeing the love story between Alex and Henry play out on-screen.
To say the anticipation for the Red, White & Royal Blue movie is high would be an understatement. The 2019 novel, written by author Casey McQuiston, hit the New York Times bestseller list shortly after it was published, and Amazon Studios snapped up the film rights thereafter.
With so much news coming straight from the movie's set, we want to make sure you have everything you need to know about the Red, White & Royal Blue movie in one place. Below, we've gathered everything we know so far about the film, including release date, cast info, plot details, and more.
Is there a trailer for Red, White & Royal Blue?
Yes! Red, White & Royal Blue is an Amazon Studios production, and the first official trailer for the queer romance film was released by Prime Video on July 6.
“I sent you to the Royal Wedding with simple instructions: Don't cause an international incident,” Uma Thurman as President Claremont says to her son as the trailer opens on one of the most infamous scenes from the book. Prince Henry freezes out Alex, Alex and Henry argue in front of that towering wedding cake, and then… well, you know the rest. “You've done some pretty stupid things in your day, but this—”
“Takes the cake?” Alex interrupts with cheeky glee. Take your first look at Henry and Alex's whirlwind romance in the trailer above.
When will Red, White & Royal Blue be released?
On April 26, Prime Video dropped the official poster for the Red, White & Royal Blue movie, along with a confirmed release date. “Ready to make some history?” asked Taylor Zakhar Perez in his announcement post to IG. Red, White & Royal Blue, which will be rated R, will be released on August 11, 2023.
The movie's poster shows two guys sitting next to each other on a leather couch with their crossed legs intertwined — with their American flag and Union Jack socks peeking out from the hems of their pants. “Love gets royally complicated,” reads the film's tagline.
What is Red, White & Royal Blue about?
Red, White & Royal Blue — both the film and the novel written by Casey McQuiston the movie is based on — follows the star-crossed, secret romance between the son of the President of the United States (Alex Claremont-Diaz, played by Taylor Zakhar Perez) and the Prince of England (Henry, played by Nicholas Galitzine). The two young, hot, high-profile young men have been engulfed in a long-running feud since they were kids — but after a silly brawl at a royal event turns into an international scandal, the two must work together to do some serious damage control in the public eye. What was first a “friendship”-slash-publicity-stunt eventually turns into one of the grandest love stories the world has ever known. However, if come to light, their secret romance could have irreversible political consequences — can love save the world after all?
Who is in the cast of Red, White & Royal Blue?
As reported by Variety, actors Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine have been cast as the leading men in the Amazon Studios film adaptation. Zakhar Perez will play Alex Claremont-Diaz, the son of the President of the United States while Galitzine steps into the royal shoes of Prince Henry of England.
Galitzine already has a bit of royal experience, having played the Prince Robert to Camila Cabello's Cinderella in the 2021 live-action film. And you might recognize Zakhar Perez from The Kissing Booth 2 & 3 — he played Elle's love interest Marco Valentin Peña.
Uma Thurman has been cast as Alex's mother, newly elected United States President Ellen Claremont. Also joining the cast in undisclosed roles are Rachel Hilson, Clifton Collins Jr., Stephen Fry, Sarah Shahi, Ellie Bamber, Aneesh Sheth, Polo Morin, Ahmed Elhaj, Sharon D. Clarke, Malcolm Atobrah, Thomas Flynn, and Akshay Khanna.
RWRB author Casey McQuiston praised the “smart, bold, [and] thoughtful choices" of the adaptation's creative team, including the casting. “I absolutely can’t wait to see Taylor and Nicholas on screen as Alex and Henry,” said McQuiston.
Director Matthew López is equally thrilled about the film's leading men. “They were a dream come true,” López said of Zakhar Perez and Galitzine while speaking to Glamour on June 12. “Taylor and Nick have an astonishing chemistry together. You could see it from their first audition together. They genuinely liked and trusted each other from the start. And individually they each take these characters and make them their own. I cannot imagine any other actor playing these roles, and I haven’t from the moment I first met them.”
“Nick and I hit it off right away,” Zakhar Perez added. "We had our chemistry read on Zoom, and then we went straight into rehearsals on day one. We didn't even have a lunch or a ‘Hi, nice to meet you.’ We just had to trust each other.”
Are there any first-look photos of Red, White & Royal Blue?
There sure are. On June 12, Prime Video released seven never-before-seen stills from Red, White & Royal Blue. In the new images, we get our first full looks at Uma Thurman as President Ellen Claremont, Henry and Alex's besties Percy “Pez” Okonjo and Nora Holleran, Zahra, and Henry's sister Princess Bea, and of course: the notorious fallen cake scene.
“We did this scene fairly early on,” Galitzine told Glamour in June. “It was a lot of fun to film because we just had several members of the cast hitting us in the face with cake, which I'm sure they probably would've enjoyed to do at the end of the process after we irritated them for three months [laughs].” Take a look for yourself below!
When did Red, White & Royal Blue start filming?
Zakhar Perez and Galitzine shared a video update from the set of the film on June 22, 2022. “We're in London on the set of Red, White & Royal Blue,” said Zakhar Perez with a smile. “Yup, we are officially in production and we can't wait to bring Henry and Alex's story to life!” Galitzine added, before the two launched into the most Henry-and-Alex banter ever.
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Zakhar Perez had shared a photo to his own Instagram a few days prior on June 18, sitting on the steps of his trailer. “Alex Claremont-Diaz,” he wrote with the U.S. and U.K. flag emojis. “That’s a wrap on week 1.”
Near the end of June and mid-July, Zakhar Perez, Galitzine, and McQuiston began posting more behind-the-scenes shots from set that are the cutest photos you have ever seen, guaranteed.
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We will keep updating this story as news about Red, White & Royal Blue breaks.
