Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have made a very unexpected career move as they are set to produce a new Netflix romance movie.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s company, Archewell Productions, will be adapting Jasmine Guillory’s romance novel, The Wedding Date, for the screen.
Harry, 41, and Meghan, 44, will be joined by Tracy Ryerson as producers as they move into fictional storytelling after a string of real-life projects.
The Wedding Date sees a chance encounter in an elevator lead to a political strategist posing as a stranger’s wedding date.
“A groomsman and his last-minute guest are about to discover if a fake date can go the distance in a fun and flirty debut novel,” a description teases.
The 2018 release was Jasmine’s debut novel and became a New York Times bestseller.
It was also expanded into a Wedding Date series, and there are six books, so could there be potential for more movies to come?
The film marks a major change for Harry and Meghan, who have mainly released documentaries and lifestyle shows in their Netflix partnership so far.
The Sussexes have had a deal with Netflix since 2020, and they recently signed a fresh multi-year film and TV deal with the streaming giant.
The deal, which was announced in August, gives Netflix a first option on any proposals from Harry and Meghan’s Archewell production company.
Harry and Meghan said they were excited to “create thoughtful content across genres that resonates globally, and celebrates our shared vision”.
It is unclear how long the deal will last or what the financial arrangements are, after their previous deal was reported to be worth $15million AUD ($10million USD).
So far, they have released a range of documentaries, sports shows, and lifestyle programming with the streaming service.
Their projects have included Polo, Heart of Invictus, Harry & Meghan, and Live to Lead.
Meghan also released a lifestyle show, titled With Love, Meghan, and a special holiday edition landed on the streaming service on December 3.
Archewell’s latest documentary, Masaka Kids – A Rhythm Within, was also released on Netflix in recent days.
The program focused on the story behind Ugandan-based YouTube dance sensations who have “used the power of dance and song to overcome hardship”.
Harry and Meghan discovered the Masaka Kids after their son, Prince Archie, six, began watching the group’s routines during the Covid pandemic.
Last month, the couple donated $50,000 USD ($75,000 AUD) to the Masaka Kids through the Archewell Foundation via a GoFundMe page.
