Director Matthew Lopez says he’s already been pitched ideas for a sequel to Red, White & Royal Blue.
The romantic comedy, following the forbidden romance between a British prince and the son of America’s first female president, premiered 11 August on Prime Video. It is based on Casey McQuiston’s acclaimed novel of the same name.
Upon release, Red, White & Royal Blue received overwhelmingly positive reviews for its faithfulness to the source material and the chemistry between Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine, who respectively play Alex and Prince Henry.
Lopez, who makes his directorial debut with the film, tells GAY TIMES that he’s – get ready to squeal – open to returning for a sequel.
“Here’s what I’ll say: if people like the movie, if it’s successful and people want more, who am I to deny them?” he revealed.
However, he clarified: “Not confirmed! That’s not confirmation. Look, any movie that ever simply gets made is a miracle. It’s greedy for a filmmaker two weeks before his movie comes out to start talking about a sequel.
“People loved the book so much they wanted the movie, right? I should be so lucky that people love the movie so much that they want another one.”
During filming, Lopez says “everyone in the hair and makeup department” pitched their ideas for a sequel, from “Red, White & Royal Wedding” to “Red, White & Royal Baby“: “I was like, ‘Can we just get through today first, please?'”
Lopez is best known for his work on the stage, receiving universal critical acclaim for writing the LGBTQ+ classic The Inheritance, which made him the first Latine writer to win the Tony Award for Best Play.
He committed the last “two-and-a-half years” of his life to adapting Red, White & Royal Blue and is “incredibly proud” of the final product, particularly the casting of Zahkar Perez and Galitzine as the leads.
“Before we started the casting process I was like, ‘If we don’t find these two, then we can’t make this movie. It’s not worth making this movie with people who are almost right.’ That was the high bar we set for ourselves.”
Zahkar Perez and Galitzine always “stayed very high” on Lopez’s list, although the “big test” came down to how much chemistry the two actors had with one another.
“Nick was Henry and Taylor was Alex, but were they going to be great together as Henry and Alex? We put them on a Zoom together and to my great relief, the chemistry was there. We knew we had a movie five minutes in because their chemistry was undeniable.”
Red, White & Royal Blue’s cast also includes Uma Thurman, Clifton Collins Jr., Sarah Shahi, Rachel Hilson, Stephen Fry, Ellie Bamber, Thomas Flynn, Malcolm Atobrah, Akshay Khanna, Sharon D Clarke, Aneesh Sheth and Juan Castano.
The rom-com is now streaming on Prime Video – watch the trailer here or below.
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