Production has officially started on Red, White & Royal Wedding!
On 19 January, the official social media channels for Red, White & Royal Blue and Prime Video shared a video of lead stars Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez back in character as fan-favourite, star-crossed couple Prince Henry and Alex Claremont-Diaz.
Interspersed with playful behind-the-scenes moments, including a few shirtless shots of Perez (!), the duo welcome fans back into the RWRB universe before Perez drops a key detail: “Oh, I did want to say that we are here for Bea’s wedding.”
“Yeah, we just wanted to clarify, you know?” Galitzine adds. “We’re not…” Perez starts, but Galitzine cuts in: “Don’t get confused. That’s a long ways off at this point.”
The video was captioned, “we’re SO beyond back. #RWRWedding is officially in production.”
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The comments were exactly what you’d expect, with Amazon MGM Studios joking, “We’re completely and totally calm about this,” while fan account Red, White & Royal Blue Updates summed up the collective mood: “I just had a heart attack.”
“SMILING AT MY PHONE LIKE MY BEST FRIENDS JUST FACETIMED ME OMG,” wrote one fan, while another called it a glorious “TIME TO BE ALIVE,” citing the gargantuan success of Heated Rivalry and the impending arrival of Harry Styles’ fourth album: “Oh my god, I am not catching any break this year.”
Alongside Galitzine and Zakhar Perez, Red, White & Royal Wedding will see the return of Uma Thurman as Ellen Claremont-Diaz, the President of the United States and Alex’s mother.
Several additional cast members are also expected to reprise their roles, though their involvement has yet to be officially confirmed, including Clifton Collins Jr. as Congressman Oscar Diaz, Sarah Shahi as Zahra Bankston, Rachel Hilson as Nora Holleran, Stephen Fry as James III, and Ellie Bamber as Princess Beatrice.
Julia Rapaport, Amazon MGM’s head of film, production and development, said in a statement: “After seeing the incredible outpouring of love for Red, White & Royal Blue from fans around the world, it’s clear Alex and Henry’s story truly resonated with audiences.
“We couldn’t be more excited to continue that journey with Jamie Babbit at the helm — her sharp comedic sensibility and heartfelt storytelling make her the perfect director to build on the magic of the first film, which Matthew López so beautifully brought to life from Casey McQuiston’s beloved book.”
Babbit celebrated her return to “the queer love universe” following But I’m a Cheerleader, which is widely considered one of the greatest LGBTQIA+ films of all time, highlighting the need for “this kind of optimism, fantasy and gay joy”.
Casey McQuiston, the author of the original novel and co-writer of the sequel’s script, echoed similar sentiments in their own statement.
“Working with this team to bring Red, White & Royal Blue to life has been a dream come true, and I hope readers and watchers alike will love how the story continues in the sequel,” they said.
“I’m so grateful to Matthew for all his hard work on the first movie and in co-creating this new story with me, and I know that Jamie has the vision, wit and tenderness to take great care of Alex and Henry from here.”
As of writing, a release date has yet to be set for Red, White & Royal Wedding.
