The second installment of the Kingsman trilogy is set to hit theaters on September 29, the first Kingsman: The Golden Circle photos give us amazing glimpses of what director Michael Vaughan explains is not a sequel. Careful to avoid the curse that he refers to as "sequelitis," Vaugn says that he doesn't want to curse the follow-up — so much so that he has refrained from even using the number "2" in any of the upcoming film's marketing. He told Entertainment Weekly, “Just doing a sequel, you’re kind of violating that promise of originality.” So it sounds to me like Kingsman fans should expect to get a fresh and original twist in this latest edition of the spy action comedy.
Stars like Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Caine appeared in the first film, which was based on the comic book, The Secret Service, but Vaughan has upped the star power ante this time around with the addition of Halle Berry, Jeff Bridges, and Channing Tatum to the cast. The film is also said to have appearances by Julianne Moore and Elton John, the latter of whom will reportedly play some quasi version of himself in the movie.
Somewhat of a rookie in the acting game, Taron Egerton — the film franchise's star — revealed that he was much more comfortable on set this time around. He explained,
“For the first one, I felt like if I wasn’t really good then it wouldn’t work. This time, the story still unfolds through my eyes but this is still a true ensemble piece. And also, I’ve had a bit more experience. I’m not asking the crew what every piece of camera equipment does.”
I can only imagine that joining a cast of Oscar Award winning actors could be nothing short of unnerving for the 27-year-old novice. However, despite those jitters, Egerton has come quite a long way since the 2015 debut of Kingsman. He's been named one of GQ's 50 best-dressed British men in 2015 and 2016 and lending his voice to the animated musical, Sing last year.
On the flip side, Mark Strong — who plays Senior Kingsman, Merlin — also hinted at a possible on-screen romance with Halle Berry's Statesmen character in the upcoming film. He joked,
"And she had her clipboard and her glasses, just like Merlin. And what happens when two tech nerds come together? Might there be some geeky love?”
Berry has also been doing a bit of pre-release teasing herself. The 50-year-old actor has shared quite a few mysterious photos of herself during filming via social media, and this new one will captivate you.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle won't premiere for a few more months, so we'll have to wait to see all of the action goodness that it has in store this time around. Until then, I suppose, these sneak peek photos will have to suffice.
