“Kingsman” and “Argylle” director Matthew Vaughn says he sees his spy franchises as being part of the same universe and that at some point they will intersect.
In an interview with Josh Horowitz on his podcast “Happy Sad Confused,” which you can watch above, Vaughn also addressed his potential studio partners for the spy universe.
“What Marvel is to superheroes, we want to be to spies,” Vaughn said. “We’ve got the ‘Kingsman’ on the right. ‘Argylle’ is on the left. We’ve got an idea for something in the middle, as well. We’ve got these competing franchises in a galaxy that one day might meet.”
Vaughn self-funds his movies and distributors don’t see his movies until they are finished (he has said previously that a rapturous response at Comic-Con is what got “Kick-Ass” released). The “Kingsman” movies were released with 20th Century (now Disney) but Vaughn and his company Marv still own them.
“Hollywood is figuring itself out. I want to know who my partner on it will be. That’s why we want to get ‘Argylle’ finished. We’re planning this spy universe…” Vaughn explained. “You can’t build a universe if you’re at three different studios.”
“Argylle,” starring Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryce Dallas Howard and Samuel L. Jackson, is technically an Apple Original Films co-production but will be distributed theatrically by Universal. It makes sense that the next “King’s Man” movie, which is meant to once again star Colin Firth and Taron Egerton, would wind up at Universal, if this idea of a shared universe goes forward.
According to Vaughn in the same interview, the book that “Argylle” is partially based on is finally coming out in January and they have plans for adapting that story next. Apparently the movie that is coming out in February is based on the fourth book in the series, even though none have actually been released yet.
The first “Kingsman” movie (cumbersomely titled “Kingsman: The Secret Service”) was released back in 2015 and introduced the world to the gentlemanly private spy syndicate, adapting a comic book by Vaughn’s frequent collaborator Mark Millar. A sequel called “Kingsman: The Golden Circle,” which had Julianne Moore feeding people into a meat grinder and a cameo by Elton John, opened in 2017. And a prequel film, “The King’s Man,” charting the origins of the spy organization, was released in 2021.
“Argylle” opens theatrically on Feb. 2, 2024, before heading to Apple TV+ sometime after.
