the special relationship

Red, White & Royal Blue 2: Everything We Know About the Sequel

Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez are set to reprise their roles as a British prince and an American first son who fall in love.
Red White  Royal Blue
Red, White & Royal Blue© Amazon/Everett Collection.

On the Met Gala red carpet this week, Nicholas Galitzine referred to fellow attendee Uma Thurman as his “mother-in-law,” a nod toward their roles in last year’s Red, White & Royal Blue. In that film, based on Casey McQuiston’s New York Times best-selling novel and directed by Matthew López, Galitzine’s British Prince Henry falls in love with American first son Alex Claremont-Diaz (played by Taylor Zakhar Perez). The movie does not, however, end with their wedding. So perhaps Galitzine’s phrasing hinted at the news, officially announced by Amazon MGM Studios on Thursday, that RW&RB is getting a sequel.

Ahead, everything we know so far about the upcoming Red, White & Royal Blue 2, from which cast members are returning to predictions about a potential wedding plot.

Does Red, White & Royal Blue 2 have a release date yet?

There’s no official word on when the frothy follow-up to Henry and Alex’s enemies-to-lovers story will be coming. But we do know that the sequel is in development, as López announced at a fan event featuring the cast on May 9. Amazon MGM Studios later confirmed the news, announcing that López will return to write the script, this time alongside Red, White & Royal Blue author Casey McQuiston.

Who will be in Red, White & Royal Blue 2?

Galitzine and Zakhar Perez have both been confirmed to reprise their roles in the sequel. It stands to reason that their respective parents, including Uma Thurman’s American president and Stephen Fry’s British king, would return in some capacity. Other potential returning cast members include Clifton Collins Jr., Sarah Shahi, Rachel Hilson, and Ellie Bamber.

López previously spoke to Vanity Fair about casting his leading men. “Without realizing it, Nick taught me that I was in search of someone who would take care of Henry,” he said about the casting process. “It felt very safe putting Henry into Nick’s hands.” When it came to Alex, the more rambunctious of the two, it was about finding an actor who could “transform himself” over the course of the film. “Taylor’s a little more like Alex than Nick is like Henry. But Taylor is not as much of a human cannonball as Alex is,” López said. “And to watch Taylor in the audition process become that reckless and energetic creature was actually really, really fun.” After watching the finished film, he said, “I genuinely cannot imagine any…two actors other than these two playing these parts.”

What will the Red, White & Royal Blue sequel be about?

Plot details are currently being kept under wraps, but it stands to reason that Henry and Alex may be contemplating taking the next step in their relationship. A big, fat, royal, American wedding opens up a world of possibilities; it would make for a sweet callback to the original film, in which the men are bound together by a public incident that ends with wedding cake on both of their faces.

No matter what the story entails, López has made it clear that he intends to appease fans of the source material, although the sequel will not have a book as its basis. “It’s absolutely undeniable that the fans love the book for the same reasons that I do, so I think of myself as one of them,” he previously told VF. “You could argue that I’m such a rabid, passionate fan, that I made the most expensive bit of fan fiction ever. I hope the fans take solace from the fact that one of them has made this movie.”

Where can I watch the Red, White & Royal Blue 2 cast while I wait?

Until more details on RW&RB 2 emerge, one can always revisit the 2023 original film. Otherwise, many of the actors are popping up in other projects—from Thurman’s role alongside Charlize Theron in Netflix’s upcoming The Old Guard 2 to Fry’s starring turn with Lena Dunham in the indie Treasure, which debuts in June. Galitzine, meanwhile, is fresh off romancing Anne Hathaway as a Harry Styles–esque singer in The Idea of You and playing an entirely different kind of royal, opposite Julianne Moore, in the Starz drama Mary & George.

This post will be updated.