Nicholas Galitzine was grateful to shoot the “Red, White & Royal Blue” sequel after filming Peter Berg’s epic World War II drama “The Mosquito Bowl.”
“It was a slight change of pace doing that movie compared to doing this movie,” the actor told me Thursday night at “The Mosquito Bowl” world premiere during AFI Fest in Hollywood.
“Red, White & Royal Wedding,” a follow-up to the hit 2023 Prime Video romantic comedy “Red, White & Royal Blue,” sees the return of unlikely couple Prince Henry of England (Galitzine) and Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez), the son of the president of the United States (Uma Thurman).
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Filming wrapped in March.
It was a nice reset going onto
“It was a nice reset going onto that film set after having bombs blow up in my face for five months,” Galitzine said.
Details about “RWRW” are being kept under wraps. Instead of following Prince Henry and Alex’s wedding, the movie reportedly features the wedding of Princess Beatrice. Prime Video has not announced a release date.
Returning cast also includes Sarah Shahi, Rachel Hilson, Clifton Collins Jr. and Stephen Fry.
“It was a really wholesome experience while adding some really amazing actors to the cast like Lena Headey,” Galitzine said. “I’m a huge fan of hers and she plays my mother in it, and so we just had a great time.”
In The Mosquito Bowl, Galitzine plays John McLaughry,
In “The Mosquito Bowl,” Galitzine plays John McLaughry, one of four real college football stars who enlisted in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. While preparing for the Battle of Okinawa, they play in the Christmas football game Mosquito Bowl. The ensemble cast also includes Ray Nicholson as Tony Butkovich, Bill Skarsgård as George Bauman and Broadway star Tom Francis making his feature film debut as Dave Shreiner. The drama also marks sports talk show host Pat McAfee’s acting debut.
The film is an emotional, terrifying and very graphic depiction of the harsh realities of war combat. “This is an anti-war movie,” Galitzine said. “It’s a representation I think of the reality of how brutal and grotesque war is. It’s also highlighting this generation that we’re all really proud of, these really young men who were just boys … We wanted to pay homage to them whilst showing the realities of war.”
The film is based on the 2022 Buzz Bissinger book “The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II,” about the Mosquito Bowl game played during World War II.
“The Mosquito Bowl” is in theaters on Oct. 30. It premieres on Netflix on Nov. 25.
Galitzine also teased that his hair color on Thursday was shades darker than usual because he’s in preparation for an upcoming project. “You’ll find out soon enough,” he said, before revealing he begins shooting in February. “I’m just letting it all grow in, ya know.”
See photos from the AFI Fest world premiere of “The Mosquito Bowl” below.
