Chasing Red, an adaptation of the hit Wattpad YA rom-com, is filming in Saudi Arabia

The adaptation of a popular Wattpad young-adult romance will do a little whitewashing of the Saudi Royal family.

By Matt Schimkowitz  |  November 25, 2025 | 10:39pm
(Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Lionsgate)
Film News Chasing Red
Chasing Red, an adaptation of the hit Wattpad YA rom-com, is filming in Saudi Arabia

Undeterred by the swift backlash to the Riyadh comedy festival, the adaptation of the young-adult romance Chasing Red is set to film in Saudi Arabia next year. Starring Riverdale‘s Madelaine Petsch and Summer I Turned Pretty‘s Gavin Casalegno, Chasing Red is the first part of the Red saga, a massively popular collection of young-adult books written by Isabelle Ronin on the platform Wattpad. The series follows Veronica (Petsch), a.k.a. “Red,” a straight-A college student with a troubled past, who has undeniable chemistry with the charming playboy, Caleb (Casalegno). It has since been published as a WEBTOON comic and a physically published book. For its next act, it’ll be doing some light whitewashing of the Saudi government, which, in addition to allegedly dismembering journalist Jamal Khashoggi, recently hosted the likes of Dave Chappelle, Aziz Ansari, Bill Burr, and Louis C.K. for the Riyadh Comedy Festival.

Wattpad has become a significant generator of young-adult content for studios in the last decade. Netflix’s The Kissing Booth was written initially for Wattpad, as were the four After movies, which have allegedly grossed more than $168 million. Unfortunately, we haven’t been big fans of the After films. Reviewing for The A.V. Club, Caroline Siede wrote, “Though After We Fell aims for the scintillating eroticism of a lithe young couple risking getting caught with some semi-public hot tub sex, the whole experience is more akin to taking a lukewarm bath in a swimsuit.”

[via Variety]

 
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