Author Casey McQuiston has shared a cryptic update about the long-awaited sequel to Red, White & Royal Blue, leaving fans unsure whether to feel hopeful or concerned.
McQuiston, who is co-writing the script with director Matthew López, spoke about the project during an interview on Friday (15 August).
“I think it’s safe to say our pencils are down for now,” the non-binary author said. “We’ll see what comes next. I’m not at liberty to say more than that.”
The original 2019 novel — and its 2023 Prime Video film adaptation — followed the whirlwind romance between British prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) and US First Son Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez). The movie’s success quickly fuelled calls for a sequel, despite no follow-up book existing.
Fans react with confusion
While news of a sequel was announced last year with Galitzine, Perez and Uma Thurman all expected to return, McQuiston’s latest comment has divided fans.
Some expressed concern:
“I don’t know how anyone reads this as positive, they didn’t say the script is done,” one fan wrote. “To me, it means postponed.”
Another added: “That’s exactly how I took it. I’m starting to worry we will never get it.”
Others took a more optimistic view:
“Pencils down means writing is done…”
“OK… sounds promising… vague but positive.”
What a sequel might explore
McQuiston has previously hinted at what fans could expect from a second film:
“The sequel is a glimpse into Alex and Henry’s life after the confetti has finished falling from the first movie, and you have to move forward as two adults in a serious adult partnership, with pressures and expectations and dreams that might be coming into conflict with each other, and things that might be pulling them in different directions.”
Last September, producer Greg Berlanti suggested the script was close to completion, though no production timeline has been announced since.
For now, fans are left waiting — and debating whether “pencils down” signals good news or bad.
