‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ Book Vs. Movie: How Director Matthew Lopez Simplified and Strengthened the Story

The Red, White & Royal Blue movie is now streaming on Amazon, which means it’s time for book fans to engage in their favorite activity: Pointing out every little, tiny, pedantic change from the novel! (These fans grew up in the Harry Potter fandom, OK? We can’t help it. This is how we were socialized.)

This best-selling 2019 gay romance novel, by author Casey McQuiston, was adapted for the screen by Matthew Lopez, who directed the film and co-wrote the script with Ted Malawer. Lopez, best known for his Tony-winning Broadway play The Inheritance, has said he was a huge fan of McQuiston’s novel, and it shows. Starring Taylor Zakhar Perez as the son of the American president who falls in love with the Prince of Wales (played by Nicholas Galitzine), the Red, White & Royal Blue delivers on all the hilarious and heart-wrenching moment that made the book so popular.

That said, there were a few significant changes made from the book, for the sake of keeping the movie’s runtime under two hours. Let’s get into it.

Red, White and Royal Blue books vs. movie changes:

The biggest change to the Red, White & Royal Blue movie from the book is that, in the book, Alex has an older sister named June. Unlike Alex, June isn’t interested in pursuing a political career, and she worries that their mother is pressuring Alex to help in her campaign. In the movie, Alex is an only child. Some of June’s storylines were combined with the character named Nora (played by actor Rachel Hilson), like, for example, June’s romance with Henry’s best friend, Pez. But for the most part, June was cut from the movie. (Scroll down for more on why June was cut from the Red, White and Royal Blue movie.)

Also cut from the movie is Rafael Luna. In the book, Luna is an independent senator and mentor to Alex, who betrays the Diaz family when he endorses the Republican presidential candidate running against Alex’s mother. That said, there was a new character added to the movie: Miguel (played by actor Juan Castano) a White House reporter who once had a fling with Alex, and is still harboring some feelings for the First Son. Miguel replaces Luna as the pseudo-villain of the story.

Other small changes include: In the book, Henry’s grandmother is the crowned Queen of England, whereas in the movie it’s his grandfather who is King. (That makes sense, given that the real queen died last year. Plus, how can you say “no” to Stephen Fry as the King of England?) In the book, Alex’s parents are divorced, and in the movie, they’re still together. (Meaning the step-dad character is also gone—just simpler for everyone!)

But my personal favorite change is the way the Red, White and Royal Blue movie handles the re-election plot line. Lopez not only simplifies the political subplot of the novel, but he also gives Alex a more active role in it. In the book, Alex works on his mom’s campaign in a general policy role. He has the plan to flip Texas, but he’s going to campaign events all over the country—until his mom finds out about Henry, and takes him off the campaign. In the movie, Lopez has the brilliant idea to actually send Alex to Texas as a home base to work on the campaign there. Rather than feeling like an extraneous storyline, the re-election campaign and Alex’s plan to flip Texas now seamlessly blends into his story with Henry. That’s why he was in Texas when Henry comes to visit! Plus, now you’re even more invested when Alex does manage to flip Texas. He was on the ground, doing the work. It’s a character win, rather than just a plot win.

Why isn’t June in the Red, White and Royal Blue movie?

Of all the changes from the Red, White & Royal Blue book, likely the one that will hurt fans the most is the loss of June. Not Junebug! How can there be a White House trio without her? Unfortunately, the novel is over 400 pages, which had to be synthesized down into an under-two-hour movie. Cuts had to be made.

In a previous interview with Decider, writer-director Matthew Lopez explained, “As I was putting this movie together, I had a lot of conversations with the producers and with [author] Casey [McQuiston]. And the first thing we knew was that movie time is not the same thing as novel time. Casey’s only limitation was page count. I had a lot more limitations to contend with. The decision I made as the director of the film, was that if it was not specifically about Alex and Henry—if it did not help me understand them as individuals or as as a couple—it didn’t belong in the movie. That applied to a lot of scenes that we filmed, and then decided to take out in the editing process.”

June’s character was dubbed “not vital” to the romance between Alex and Henry, and was therefore expendable. It’s a tough call, but a fair one. In that same interview with Decider, Lopez added, “Alex and Henry are at the center, and every other thing in the movie is a tributary into those two rivers. If I could make the audience feel the same way at the end of the film as they did at the end of the book, then no matter how differently I may have gotten there, I will have felt that I had succeeded.”

Some fans may disagree, but this reporter thinks Lopez succeeded.