It was only a matter of time before Amazon offered a second serving of Red, White & Royal Blue, an adaptation of the book by the same name by Casey McQuiston.
The rom-com that took the world by storm last year will officially get a sequel, and all the stars are aligning. Taylor Zakhar-Perez and Nicholas Galitzine are set to reprise their iconic roles in the sequel, whose title or plot has not been revealed yet.
Red, White & Royal Blue told the story of a rivalry between Alex Claremont-Diaz, the son of a sitting POTUS, and Prince Henry (and several other names) of England.
Although the two dislike each other, they are forced to spend time together for political reasons. However, they find themselves drawn to each other, and soon, a love story unfolds.
Being in the public eye and queer relationship opens them up to a plethora of problems to overcome that threaten to end their relationship before it starts.
In true movie fashion, they overcome them all and live happily ever after.
The film was groundbreaking in more ways than one, telling a story that queer people could only dream of seeing portrayed with queer characters.
Red, White & Royal Blue was a megahit for Prime Video, raking in millions of views worldwide and propelling it to the platform’s top 3 romantic films of all time. Suits loved hearing that the film led to a surge of subscribers on the streamer, which is all they need.
Mathew Lopez made his feature film directing debut with the film. He will return to write the sequel with McQuiston.
The film made its lead actors stars overnight, making their names recognizable and in demand.
Galitzine has seen an extraordinary explosion of fame, especially after his post-RWRB projects came out. Of note is the raunchy Mary & George, a period drama where he plays a young man pimped by his mother for the King of England to curry favor with him.
The series is based on real events where Mary Villiers (Julianne Moore) groomed her son, George Villiers, for King James VI.
Mary & George brings queer roles Galitzine has played to five. He is straight.
Nicholas Galitzine To Reprise ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ Role
Ironically, he had just addressed the hot-button issue of straight actors playing gay characters in an interview with British GQ before news of a sequel came out.
He opened up about feeling “guilt” for playing queer characters, saying,
“I identify as a straight man, but I have been a part of some incredible queer stories. I felt a sense of uncertainty sometimes about whether I’m taking up someone’s space, and perhaps guilt.”
Nicholas Galitzine – GQ
He reignited a firey debate about who’s capable of representing minorities and marginalized groups.
While different people approach the topic from different perspectives, Galitzine approached it from an opportunity standpoint. With only so many queer characters to go around, he felt like he was taking up a role that could be better suited for a queer actor.
GLAAD Where We Are 2024 puts the percentage of queer characters on Primetime scripted TV at 8.6% of all series regulars. That number is even less for specific breakdowns.
Other creatives like Challengers director and queer filmmaker Luca Guadgnino who was critised for casting straight men in his celebrated film Call Me By Your Name, has dismissed the topic of casting and representation in an interview with The Independent as a non-issue, saying,
“That sounds to be dull and a little preposterous. If I have to cast what people think is the real thing for a role, I wouldn’t be able to cast. I cannot cast a gay man to play Oliver. I have to cast Oliver to play Oliver because the identities of gay men are as multiple as the flowers in the realm of earth. So, there is not a gay identity. One person who is gay is completely different to another person who is gay.”
Luca Guadagnino – The Indepedent
Galitzine’s comments are similar to those made by Darren Criss, who rose to fame for playing gay characters in shows like Glee and American Crime Story.
He told Bustle that he won’t be taking on queer roles anymore though he can, saying,
“There are certain [queer] roles that I’ll see that are just wonderful. But I want to make sure I won’t be another straight boy taking a gay man’s role.”
Darren Criss – Bustle
Since making those comments, Criss has never played a gay character. Galitzine is set to reprise his role in Red, White & Royal Blue.