Warning: major spoilers ahead!
ICYMI, Red, White & Royal Blue was the summer movie of 2023. The top-watched film worldwide for Amazon in its first three weeks of release (it became the #1 movie globally on Prime Video in its premiere weekend!), it also led to “a huge surge in new Prime membership signups” due to the film’s premiere on August 11, according to Deadline.
So during the film screening at the Culver Theater on Thursday, May 9, fans had high expectations for something major to happen—a director’s cut, with a never-before seen clip, perhaps? Social media *exploded* when movie director Matthew López dropped the cornetto scene and extended campfire scene, after all.
Instead, what we got was a sequel announcement. FirstPrince fans, we won.
Everything We Know About The Red, White & Royal Blue Sequel
What was the plot of Red, White & Royal Blue?
Based on the best-selling 2019 novel by Casey McQuiston, the book is written in the point of view of Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez), First Son of the United States of America. Following “Cakegate,” an embarrassing diplomatic incident that occured during the royal wedding, he and Henry George Edward James Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, the “Prince of England’s Hearts” (Nicholas Galitzine) are forced to pretend to be ‘best mates’ in front of the press. In true rivals-to-lovers fashion, they overcome their initial misunderstanding and fall in love—and win the biggest fights of their lives, earning a Happy Ever After in both the personal and political spheres.
Yes, a sequel to Red, White & Royal Blue is officially in the works.
“There’s going to be a sequel to the film,” Casey confirmed in front of a crowd of enthusiastically screaming fans (#mood, tbh). Matthew also captioned his IG post “Sequel, huh? Bet we could make one.”
A lot of the creatives behind Red, White & Royal Blue will be returning for the sequel.
Matthew will take charge behind the camera once again. Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter will return to produce the film, which Casey will also executive produce.
No plot details have been announced yet.
Talking about the script, Casey revealed that “Matthew and I are writing it together…and that’s all I can say!” During the Q&A, Taylor mentioned that he’d like to see “another cake scene.” “I don’t think Matthew can go through that much buttercream again,” Casey quipped. The director was quick to reply, “there’s no buttercream in England left.” LOL!
“At the end of the day, I think what made this film what it is, is that it was made with a lot of love for the book, and a lot of care. Like Sarah said, we had dog-eared copies of the book on set, and we all took it really seriously. We all had fun and we all made sure that there was a lot of joy in the work, but we knew what the book meant to people and we were determined not to screw it up! And so the only thing I can say about the sequel is that it will be made with the same attention and love and dedication,” Matthew concluded.
Amazon MGM Studios greenlit the production of a Red, White & Royal Blue sequel.
Regarding the sequel, producer Sarah Schechter said working with Amazon “was just getting it all together in terms of some very long phone calls,” but that there was always a lot of enthusiasm for a part 2.
Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez are set to reprise their roles in the sequel.
Several media sites (including Variety, Entertainment Weekly, and Hollywood Reporter) have confirmed that the two leads will be returning to film the sequel. As of writing, there have been no further developments on the final cast list.
During the panel interview, Sarah Schechter also said “Hopefully everyone on this stage will be in the movie pending their schedules, because they have a place in my heart and on the set whenever they want.” The cast present at the Q&A include Uma Thurman (President Ellen Claremont), Clifton Collins Jr. (Senator Oscar Diaz), Sarah Shahi (Zahra Bankston), and Rachel Hilson (Nora Holleran). Ellie Bamber (Princess Beatrice) was also set to attend, but unfortunately had a scheduling conflict. “So sad I couldn’t be at the RWRB/Prime FYC event would have been there in a heartbeat if I wasn’t filming. Sending big love and missing everyone xx<3,” she tweeted.
So now, we settle in for a long wait—after all, the script hasn’t been finished yet, and production will take time. In the meantime, perhaps Amazon Prime can treat us to other previously unreleased scenes? Just like Alex Claremont-Diaz, we have a list (titled “AN INCOMPLETE LIST: DELETED RWRB SCENES I NEED TO SEE”):
- Alex and president Ellen scene that Taylor mentioned
- 6-minute polo scene (including lunch with Bea and Pez)
- Alex, Zahra, and senator Oscar in the living room
- Alex and Amy at the DNC
- Paris extended scene (including the morning after in the hotel room)
- Kensington Palace breakfast after Alex spent the night
- FirstPrince in the woods
- Extended lakehouse scene
- White House re-election night with Nora and Pez
- Thanksgiving at the brownstone
BRB, time to re-read Casey’s AMA threads about Henry and Alex for the nth time to find spoiler breadcrumbs. Leaving this here for all of you to scream over (myself included):
What’s your Roman Empire missing scene from the RWRB movie? And what are you hoping to see in the sequel?
Red, White & Royal Blue is available to stream exclusively on Prime Video.
