Matthew López On Co-Adapting and Directing a Modern Queer Love Story to Stand the Test of Time for ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’

I sometimes can’t believe a movie like Red, White & Royal Blue exists. I was raised on queer cinema that always felt like it landed on the periphery of mainstream entertainment. I grew up on Trick and The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy before running to my local video store to check out Jeffrey and Love! Valour! Compassion! A lot of queer cinema was either broad and niche or needed to “teach us a lesson” just to justify the small representation that we had. It felt, sometimes, that we could never simply enjoy the presence of a sexy, romantic, over-the-top love story that could serve as comfort to some and immediate to others. Until now. Thanks to Tony Award winning director Matthew López, Casey McQuiston’s beloved Red, White & Royal Blue comes to Prime Video, and this film gets to have its cake–toppling and all–and eat it too.

López and I talk about the difference between a romantic comedy and a love story, and he would qualify his directorial debut as more of the latter. Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez (as the Prince of England and First Son, respectively) bicker as good as they banter, but this very public romance reaches its highest heights when they are alone and realizing how similar their lives are–paparazzi, social media speculation, and all that comes with being the son of a world leader.

It does start, however, with the adaptation. López, the writer of the profoundly beautiful play The Inheritance, was tasked with adapting McQuiston’s behemoth of a book with co-writer Ted Malawer. You’ll notice how focused this rendering of the story is which leads to López being able to tightly direct it. Some people will never be satisfied with changes made from page to screen, but this is such a respectable adaptation that it creates a percolating tension as the romance flourishes.

López and I chat about Uma Thurman, Stephen Fry, and cheeky accidental edits, but what I am most thrilled by is how he unapologetically creates art as a testament to the queer experience. Thanks to him, scores of people will see how we love, how we grow, and how the son of the President of the United States of America can fall hopelessly in love with the Prince of England.

Red, White & Royal Blue is streaming on Prime Video.