Prime Video’s long-awaited adaptation of Casey McQuiston’s young adult LGBTQ+ romance Red, White & Royal Blue received its first trailer today. Fandoms of popular novels are a tough crowd to please, but thanks to impeccable casting and a well-balanced mix of humor and heart, Amazon has managed to knock this particular fandom off its feet, this writer included.
The trailer offers viewers their first glimpse of the sizzling chemistry between actors Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine who play Alex Claremont-Diaz and Prince Henry, respectively. Alex is the son of the first female president of the United States (Uma Thurman) whereas Henry is the third in line to the British throne. The pair quickly find themselves in an international PR nightmare when a spat at a royal wedding lands them both covered in wedding cake and headlining every major newspaper around the globe. To remedy this, they forge a public friendship despite their unified hatred for one another, but as time goes on they develop romantic feelings, ones that turn matters of the heart into matters of state.
On the one hand, adaptations such as these are primed with a built-in audience ready and eager to be pleased. On the other, one misstep and you’re tossed to the wolves. If the trailer is any indication of what to expect, Amazon somehow managed to walk that tightrope with admirable precision, and fans are impressed.
It’s going to be quite the summer for the gays, as one fan pointed out. Here we have the Barbie movie coming out on July 21, Red, White & Royal Blue the month after, and then the second season of Heartstopper just after that. Indeed, the gays are winning.
Over on YouTube, fans couldn’t hold back their excitement any longer, showering Amazon with praise for already incorporating in the trailer some of the most iconic scenes from the book.
“Many of the iconic scenes from the book already in the trailer…..I’m ready,” wrote @christinaearly1015.
“I’m literally sobbing…It has all the scenes from the book I wanted to see,” said @lunol2169.
Wow. This trailer is AMAZINGGGG,” said @pd8900.
Aside from the fact that rom-coms, in general, have been on the decline over the last decade, gay ones like Red, White & Royal Blue have become even more scarce. That’s not to say that they don’t exist — just look at Bros, Fire Island, and Love, Simon, not to mention many of the other lesser-known projects that are favorites among the LGBTQ+ community. Still, the mainstream appeal of Red, White & Royal Blue opens it to a larger conversation and a seat at a table that has otherwise been reserved for male/female love stories.
Like its source material, Prime Video’s Red, White & Royal Blue is proving it’s unafraid to be steamy. With an R rating and plenty of saucy moments between its two leading men, Amazon is saying it’s willing to uplift gay storytelling and back it up with an audience that reaches three-quarters of a million fans, at least according to those who’ve read and rated McQuiston’s viral book on Goodreads.
To be this well-received at this early stage is quite the accomplishment. It’s hard to imagine such a movie getting this kind of reception 10 years ago, let alone being backed by an Academy Award-winning studio such as Amazon. Searchlight Pictures did the same thing with Fire Island and Universal did it with Bros. Both brought their own version of the gay experience to the forefront. Now, Red, White & Royal Blue is here to highlight the bisexual community of color (Alex Claremont-Diaz). That alone is a win for the LGBTQ+ community.
Red, White & Royal Blue premieres August 11 on Prime Video.
