The 'Kingsman' prequel movie is a total departure from the franchise and it looks amazing
If you expected the prequel to the 'Kingsman' series to be just a historical version of the main movies, you’re in for quite the surprise. 'The King's Man', reportedly the first of a two-film series, will take audiences back to the turn of the 20th Century with the origins of the eponymous spy organization.
A teaser for the movie released on July 15 reveals the sweeping backdrop of World War I against which the story is told. 'The King's Man' will feature a collection of history’s worst villains and the teaser has already given us our first look at one of them, Rhys Ifans's Rasputin. The historical figure of Rasputin has become almost synonymous with evil in present times and the mad monk will find allies in Mata Hari and Erik Jan Hanussen, "Hitler’s astrologer", played by Daniel Brühl.
"Rasputin is one of the bad guys," director Matthew Vaughn told Empire. "There are three main villains, and he's one of them. We took all of these mad, historical characters that we knew were villains, and we played them for real in it."
And when evil rises, champions of the good must inevitably step into the light. The heroes of this epic story are the Duke of Oxford (Ralph Fiennes) and his son Conrad (Harris Dickinson). But the Duke of Oxford makes it clear that though they are nobility, that does not mean they will be chivalrous.
"Throughout time, our people robbed, lied and killed; until one day, we found ourselves, noblemen," Fiennes says in a voiceover. "But that nobility never came from chivalry. It came from being tough. And ruthless. Real power, is not found from running after war. Real power lies in understanding who it is you are truly fighting, and how they can be defeated."
Vaughn has teased that the movie will play on the differences between father and son in the way they see the world.
"Conrad is the son of the Duke Of Oxford," Vaughn said. "Oxford is a reactionary, Conrad is a revolutionary. It's about a father and son relationship where they couldn't have more opposing views on life, yet love each other dearly."
There are moments when the trailer reminds you of the other movies in the 'Kingsman' franchise, like the training sequence that shows Conrad sparring with Djimon Hounsou's Shola and another scene where a secret passage is revealed. But the movie takes on a much darker tone than the adventures of Harry and Eggsy and this helps show how the prequel will keep its distance while still fitting into the greater world of the franchise.
“It's definitely got moments when we're in the 'Kingsman' universe," Vaughn revealed. "But if you think about what 'X-Men: First Class' was to 'X-Men', that’s probably what 'The King's Man' is to 'Kingsman: The Secret Service'. There are tropes that are similar, but we haven't got any of the same characters, which gives us more creative freedom."
When 'The King's Man' rolls into theaters in 2020, it is bound to be met by an army of extremely excited fans. We can't wait to see Fiennes put his sharp wit and sword into action as he and Dickinson lay the groundwork for the Kingsman organization’s growth into the uber-cool spy network that we know and love.
'The King's Man' will premiere on February 14, 2020.