Red, White, & Royal Blue: Uma Thurman to play the U.S. President in Amazon rom-com adaptation

Hail to the Chief indeed! Uma Thurman (Pulp Fiction, Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber) will play the U.S. President Ellen Claremont in Prime Video’s romantic comedy, Red, White, & Royal Blue. Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Casey McQuiston, the film also stars Taylor Zakhar Perez, Nicholas Galitzine, Clifton Collins Jr., Stephen Fry, Sarah Shahi, Rachel Hilson, Ellie Bamber, Aneesh Sheth, Polo Morin, Ahmed Elhaj, and Akshay Khanna.

According to Deadline, Red, White, & Royal Blue will follow the Mexican-American character Alex Claremont-Diaz (Perez), who, upon his mother’s (Thurman) election as President, is promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, brilliant―his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There’s only one problem: Alex has a long-running feud with his royal counterpart across the pond, Prince Henry (Galitzine). And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an altercation between the two, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse.

Heads of family, state, and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: staging a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instagramable friendship grows into something more meaningful than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could complicate his mother’s re-election campaign, upend two nations, and begs the question: Can love save the world?

What’s this? Shenanigans at the White House? Perish the thought!

Tony Award-winning playwright Matthew López is directing Red, White, & Royal Blue from his own script for his feature debut. Ted Malawer wrote an early draft of the screenplay. Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter produce through Berlanti/Schechter Films, with López, McQuiston, and Michael McGrath executive producing. Production begins later this month, with the project planning an exclusive Prime Video release.

“I am overjoyed that Uma will be joining us to play President Claremont,” said López. “Her intelligence, warmth, and humor are a perfect match for Casey’s iconic character. I cannot wait to be on our Oval Office set with her.”

Will Alex and Prince Henry’s forbidden love destroy the President’s public image, labeling her the mother of a problem child? Or will Alex and Henry’s passion show the world that love is love regardless of what side of the political pond you’re on? We’ll find out when Red, White, & Royal Blue comes to Prime Video.