Will There Be A Sequel To Red, White And Royal Blue?
Maybe! It also could be something else entirely!
Adapted from Casey McQuiston's debut 2019 novel, "Red, White & Royal Blue" imagines a world that not only has a female President of the United States — played by Uma Thurman — but also imagines what might happen if her son, Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zahkar Perez), fell in love with the younger of two Princes of England, Henry (Nicholas Galitzine). The film, released through Amazon Studios, has director Matthew López at the helm, and apparently, his agent sent him McQuiston's novel with very different intentions.
Prior to "Red, White & Royal Blue," López was best known for his expansive play "The Inheritance," which won a handful of Tony Awards — including Best Play — in 2020, so when his agent suggested that he might be interested in McQuiston's book, he thought a musical could be in order. "The reason my agent sent me the book is he thought maybe I'd want to turn it into a musical," López told GLAAD. "I don't see it working as a musical, but maybe that's because I know it too well as a movie – maybe I'm wrong about that. I reserved the right to be wrong about that... especially if the price is right."
Obviously, whether or not "Red, White & Royal Blue" could be a musical doesn't have much to do with a sequel... so it remains to be seen if López would return for "Red, White & Royal Two." (It's a working title.) What about McQuiston, though?
Casey McQuiston hasn't ruled out a sequel to Red, White & Royal Blue
In 2019, speaking to Hello! after the book's release, McQuiston expressed their joy that the book was immediately so beloved (the author identifies as queer and non-binary, and uses they/them pronouns). "I feel so incredibly lucky to have written something that's resonated with so many people on so many levels," McQuiston said at the time. "I expected this book to do well if it could find its target audience of queer millennials looking for a fun and escapist rom-com, but I never expected it to transcend as much as it has."
Asked about a sequel, they were pretty direct in saying that they would potentially want to spend more time with this international cpouple. "I will say that I have plenty of ideas for stories set in this world and would love a chance to explore one of them some day," they teased. "I would be surprised if you've seen the last of Alex and Henry."
Since "Red, White & Royal Blue" was published in 2019, McQuiston has published two more books — 2021's "One Last Stop," a queer time-travel romance set in New York City, and 2022's young adult venture "I Kissed Shara Wheeler." That said, a collector's edition of "Red, White & Royal Blue" hit shelves in late 2022, and it already teases more of Alex and Henry's love story.
The collector's edition of Red, White & Royal Blue has a continuation of the story
As it happens, McQuiston wrote what's essentially a mini-sequel in the collector's edition of "Red, White & Royal Blue" — and it could certainly be expanded into a full book, which could then serve as inspiration for a new film. The collector's edition features an additional chapter after the main story ends, swapping the main perspective from Alex to Henry as the chapter sees the couple five years in the future, moving out of the Brooklyn brownstone Henry buys at the end of the original novel.
Henry looks back on their five years in the townhouse together, which sees Alex attend law school and Henry opening shelters for disenfranchised queer youth in the city. Together, they learn to cook, spend Christmas with their respective families, and manage occasional patches of long-distance as they both travel for various commitments — and perhaps most excitingly, agreed to get married. Ultimately, they decide to move to Texas, Alex's home state, together, and the chapter brings it all full circle as they get ready to embark upon a new chapter together, planning their wedding and new life in Texas.
It's all very domestic and sweet — which is a far cry from the fiery passion that makes "Red, White & Royal Blue" so delightful — but these scenes of a happy life together could definitely get some ideas for a sequel going. For now, "Red, White & Royal Blue" is streaming on Amazon now.