Alex And Prince Henry Are Coming Back For Round Two Of “Red, White And Royal Blue”!
Red, White And Royal Blue paired a fictional First Son of the US with a prince of the British royal family and gave us something rare: romance with genuine heat, heart, and politics. Now the sequel is officially in the works, and yes, the leads are returning. So, what’s next?
Who’s In, What’s New, and What’s Next?
Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine will reprise their roles as Alex Claremont-Diaz and Prince Henry, the lovers who went from enemies to world-stage sweethearts. The film’s original director and co-writer, Matthew López, is also back, working again with Red White And Royal Blue author Casey McQuiston on the script.
While fans are hungry for plot teasers, don’t expect leaks from Perez anytime soon. “Please do not share with me anything until we are ready to prep it, because I want plausible deniability,” he told Elle. He hasn’t read the script yet, but says he’s heard “it’s very good.”
Cheeky, but fair. He’s been busy lending his voice to The Big Fix, a 1950s detective podcast alongside Jon Hamm and Alia Shawkat. Still, he admits nothing has matched the impact of Red, White And Royal Blue. “I have never been stopped more than I was for that film,” he said, recalling Paris fans crowding the hotel to glimpse Alex Claremont-Diaz.
Will Their Romance Survive Reality?
The first film ended with a dreamy royal-meets-Texan balcony kiss, followed by a moonlit bike ride and, presumably, some alone time in Alex’s childhood bedroom. It was satisfying, sure, but where do they go from here?
According to McQuiston, the sequel isn’t just a retread. In an interview with W magazine, she teased the idea of folding in characters from her newer novel The Pairing, about exes reconnecting across Europe. “All that to say, they could go to France and meet Theo and Kit because their future is wide open,” she said.
A European detour? Count us in.
Keeping the Heat On
Don’t expect the sequel to pull back on intimacy. López made it clear he wasn’t compromising on authenticity the first time around and has no plans to start now. “I couldn’t tell this story without telling that part of the story,” he said of the film’s R rating. The sex scenes were designed with precision and care by López and intimacy coordinator Robbie Taylor Hunt, both openly gay men. “It had to be physically accurate. And it had to feel very authentic.”
McQuiston has admitted the process of translating their novel to screen challenged their old beliefs about adaptations. “Through the process of working on the sequel, as a prose writer, I’ve come to understand we can’t translate it directly to page,” they told The Hollywood Reporter.
Where Will They Go This Time?
Will Alex take Henry deep into American heartland politics? Will Henry introduce Alex to some off-the-record royal scandal in Spain or Italy? Could they sneak off to a Pride party in São Paulo? The world’s open, and so is the fan speculation.
So, what do you want to see from Alex and Henry this time? More political drama? More royal family tension? Or just more of them kissing in beautiful lighting?
