Of all modern comic creators, Mark Millar has arguably had the best run outside the printed page. The master of social-media and provocative pitches, a vast amount of Millar’s creations have made it to the screen, including Wanted, Kick-Ass and his reinvention of the Avengers mythos as ‘The Ultimates‘ directly influenced the tone and direction of the Avengers on screen. He’s also got a raft of Netflix projects on the horizon.
To date there have also been two entries in The Kingsman cinematic run, based around Millar’s ‘Secret Service: Kingsman‘ idea of a council-estate/inner-city young man who discovers his father was a member of an elite secret-society that fought crime through the decades, known as The Kingsmen (the comic being illustrated by Dave Gibbons of Watchmen fame). The first film arrived in 2014 and the second, ‘The Golden Circle‘, hit cinemas in 2017. Both films fared pretty well at the box-office, balancing OTT action set-ups with a sly dig at the James Bond mythology and the British class-system.
Now a third movie in the series is on the horizon, but actually serving as a prequel to the whole concept. The King’s Man details the formation of that secret society during the days of WWI and boasts just as interesting a cast. Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, Djimon Hounsou, Matthew Goode, Tom Hollander, Daniel Brühl and Charles Dance all feature with Matthew Vaughn once again in the director’s chair. The brief description for what we can expect reads: ‘As a collection of history’s worst tyrants and criminal masterminds gather to plot a war to wipe out millions, one man must race against time to stop them. Discover the origins of the very first independent intelligence agency…‘
The King’s Man is due for release for Valentine’s Day, February 14th 2020.
