NEED TO KNOW
A heated royalty is coming soon!
Filming for the highly anticipated sequel to the 2023 hit rom-com Red, White & Royal Blue, titled Red, White & Royal Wedding, is officially underway, as a new behind-the-scenes video reveals.
Shared on Monday, Jan. 19 via the movie’s Instagram account and distributors Amazon MGM Studios and Prime Video — with the caption “we’re SO beyond back” — the video shows Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine greeting fans.
“Welcome back,” says Galitzine, 31, who will return to play England’s fictional Prince Henry.
“Oh, I did want to say that we are here for Bea’s wedding,” explains Perez, 34, who will reprise his role as Alex Claremont-Diaz, son of President Ellen Claremont (Uma Thurman) and Congressman Oscar Diaz (Clifton Collins Jr.). Bea is Princess Beatrice (Ellie Bamber), younger sister to Prince Henry — the apparent bride in the sequel’s titular wedding.
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“Yeah, we just wanted to clarify, you know?” jokes Galitzine in the video of the nuptials in question. “Don’t get confused.” Henry and Alex walking down the aisle themselves, as the British star playfully says, is “a long ways off at this point.”
Red, White & Royal Wedding is co-written by Casey McQuiston — author of the 2019 novel on which the movies are based — plus Gemma Burgess and the first film’s writer-director Matthew López.
Directing the sequel is Jamie Babbit, known for helming 1999 queer rom-com But I’m a Cheerleader. Plot details for the sequel are being kept under wraps, per a press release from Amazon.
Courtesy of Prime Video
“I’m thrilled to be back in the queer love universe of Red, White & Royal Wedding,” said Babbit, 55, in a statement. “We all need this kind of optimism, fantasy and gay joy.”
“I’m excited we get to continue telling Alex and Henry’s story with Red, White & Royal Wedding,” said López, 48. “It’s been a blast to dream up the next chapter of their story as a producer and co-writer and I’m delighted to be passing the directing baton to Jamie, whose vision and sense of humor will be a perfect match for our film.”
Gregg Deguire/January Images/Shutterstock
As many fans noted in the comments of the Instagram teaser, Red, White & Royal Wedding will scratch a similar itch to Heated Rivalry, the recent Crave and HBO sensation starring Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie as star-crossed hockey pros.
Like McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue, the drama series is also based on a hit series of romance novels, from author Rachel Reid, and features two male characters who go from enemies to lovers.
