You won’t need a passport to embark on a trans-Atlantic romance once the movie adaptation of “Red, White & Royal Blue” debuts next month.
Amazon Prime Video unveiled the film’s first trailer Thursday, offering viewers a sneak peek at actors Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez in character.
Based on Casey McQuiston’s 2019 novel, “Red, White & Royal Blue” follows a romance between Alex Claremont-Diaz (played by Perez), the son of the first female U.S. president, and Henry (Galitzine), a British prince. The movie’s cast also includes Uma Thurman as President Ellen Claremont and Stephen Fry as the king of England.
As the trailer shows, Alex and Henry have been bitter rivals for years. After an altercation at a royal wedding becomes front-page news, the two men are coerced by their handlers to attempt a truce.
Over time, Alex and Henry forge an unlikely friendship that evolves into a full-blown, steamy love affair. Still, the pair are skittish about making their relationship public, given the political repercussions that may ensue.
Watch the trailer for “Red, White & Royal Blue” below:
“Red, White & Royal Blue” marks the directorial debut of Matthew López, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Ted Malawer. The writer-director is beloved by theater fans for writing the 2019 Broadway play “The Inheritance” and co-writing the musical adaptation of “Some Like It Hot,” which won four Tony Awards last month.
In a June interview with Glamour, López said he became determined to adapt “Red, White & Royal Blue” for the screen after first reading McQuiston’s novel about three years ago.
“I never imagined I’d read a book with a queer Latine character at the center — a character who is smart and passionate and flawed and hopeful,” he said. “I think having this book in my life when I was younger might have made it a little easier.”
As for Galitzine, he acknowledges that some viewers may spot some parallels between the fictional romance at the center of “Red, White & Royal Blue” and the relationship between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
But in an interview with Entertainment Weekly this week, he noted that he tried to steer clear of drawing too heavily from Britain’s real-life royal family in his performance.
“I tried to stay away from that because it’s entirely its own thing. Henry is complicated in a different way and dealing with different issues,” said Galitzine, whose credits include the 2021 adaptation of “Cinderella” starring Camila Cabello.
As for sharing the screen with Perez, he added: “We have the same sense of humor. We’re both idiots in some way. We speak the same language as people. It was a different chemistry.”
“Red, White & Royal Blue” hits Prime Video Aug. 11.