the first red, white & royal blue had "partial nudity." the sequel's rating just dropped the word "partial." we're seated.

Photo: LucaFazPhoto, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

via the MPA's rating bulletin, Attitude and PinkNews

Ratings boards do not write poetry, but they do write adjectives, and this week they took two away.

In 2023, the Motion Picture Association rated Red, White & Royal Blue R for "language, some sexual content and partial nudity," PinkNews reported at the time. On Tuesday, the MPA's Bulletin No. 2958, dated Oct. 13, 2026, listed the sequel: "Red, White & Royal Wedding - Rated R for sexual content/nudity and language." Distributor: Amazon MGM Studios.

No "some." No "partial." Just sexual content, nudity, and a slash between them doing a lot of work.

what we know about the sequel

Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez are back as Prince Henry and Alex Claremont-Diaz. According to Attitude, the plot centers on the wedding of Henry's younger sister, Princess Beatrice, Jamie Babbit directs, and filming ran from January to March 2026. Lena Headey, Chloe Fineman, Henry Ashton and Alex Høgh Andersen join a returning cast that includes Uma Thurman and Stephen Fry. Both Attitude and PinkNews say there is no release date yet.

A rating bulletin tells you what the board saw, not how much of it. Anyone promising you specifics is guessing. We are also guessing, but we are doing it with our whole chest.

the director already had thoughts

The first film's R was a talking point in 2023, mostly because of one sex scene. Its director, Matthew López, told Attitude that August: "I question if it had been a man and a woman would we have got an R-rating for that scene?" He also said that "no one asked me to change the movie" to get a PG-13.

It has been a big week for queer films and the MPA. On Tuesday we wrote about Pedro Pascal and Danny Ramirez in Todd Haynes' De Noche coming back R instead of NC-17. Two gay films, two Rs, zero apologies. The adjectives are trending in the right direction.