How Kingsman 2 Sets Up Kingsman 3 [SPOILERS]
Disclaimer: This post contains massive spoilers for Kingsman: The Golden Circle.
Earlier this week, we reported on a statement from Kingsman director Matthew Vaughn. To the surprise of exactly no one, he said they had big plans for a third Kingsman film, following Kingsman: The Golden Circle. He had already stated in the past they they were hoping for a sequel, and though he recognized they’d have to earn it, that didn’t stop him from at least setting things up for things to come in The Golden Circle.
Here’s what Vaughn had to say earlier this week:
“We have a big plan for number 3. If you look at the ending of number 2, every single character is on the cusp of a new adventure which is set up – I hope, everyone’s thinking a question mark for what’s going to happen to these guys next.”
RELATED: Matthew Vaughn Has Plans For A Third Kingsman Film
Sounds straightforward enough. But now that we’ve had a chance to see the film, some may be wondering HOW they set up the movie for a sequel. Well, as Vaughn said, Kingsman: The Golden Circle left all the main characters at starting points of a new adventure. So let’s take a look at how the film left them, and what it could mean for the future.
The Future Of The Kingsman The Organization
In the first act of The Golden Circle, Poppy destroyed the Kingsman HQ, along with every agent but Merlin and Eggsy (and Harry, who was being held by the Statesman). The Doomsday Protocol led them to the Statesman, and by the end of the film, the Statesman purchased the Kingsman.
As a result, the Kingsman are now wholly owned by the Statesman, and also have the ridiculous amount of resources from them at their disposal. While we don’t expect any of the other Statesman apart from Tequila to remain an integral part of the story of the third film, we do expect to see some of the bureaucracy at work in some way or another.
One other aspect of the Kingsman that will change are its rules. With everyone else dead but Eggsy and Harry, they’re free to make up whatever rules they see fit. At this point, it’s almost as if we’ll be witnessing Kingsman as a start-up, which is bound to come with all sorts of structural kinks and issues.
Prince Eggsy
Speaking rule changes. One of the rules in Kingsman had to do with relationships. Understandably, they were to keep them to a minimum so that baddies could have less leverage if kidnapped, among many other potential reasons. In spite of this, Eggsy continued on with his relationship with Princess Tilde throughout the duration of Kingsman: The Golden Circle.
The end of the film saw him actually marrying Princess Tilde, meaning that he would be not only a Kingsman agent, but a bona fide prince. Having a relationship with a princess is one thing, but actually being a prince who puts himself in harm’s way on a daily basis? That’s a whole different ballgame.
Considering Eggsy comes from a humble upbringing, and considering he’ll no longer have Roxy in his ear to help along on dates, this is going to be quite the adjustment that’s sure to be front and center of Kingsman 3.
But wait, there’s more!
NEXT PAGE: AGENT TEQUILA, AGENT WHISKEY, AND HARRY HART –>
Agent Tequila Becomes A Kingsman Agent
If you were like me, you were probably a bit disappointed by the amount of screen time Channing Tatum had in Kingsman: The Golden Circle. This was the guy who brought in Eggsy and Merlin into the Statesman organization — albeit with a harsh welcome. However, when he got sick with the blue rash, he spent the rest of the film on ice as Pedro Pascal’s Agent Whiskey took over his duties.
While it was disappointing to see so little of him, they did lay the groundwork for the next film. In the few minutes we saw him in the film, they painted him as a bit of a wild card. He was a great agent, but not without his rough edges.
At the end of the film, he gets sent in London so that the Kingsman can teach the agent some manners — or at least that was sort of the jokey reason. As a result, we think we can expect to see a lot more of Agent Tequila come Kingsman 3. We expect his rough-and-tumble approach will be both a liability and an asset for Eggsy and co.
The New Agent Whiskey
One big twist in The Golden Circle revolved around Pedro Pascal’s Agent Tequila. He was a man who had been burned by a drug addict in the past. As a result, he wasn’t too keen on following through with the Kingsman’s and Statesman’s plans to save all the ailing drug users around the world.
The climax of the movie saw Eggsy and Harry taking on Whiskey, and dunking him in a meat grinder (yum). This left an open seat on the Statesman roster, which Halle Berry’s Ginger Ale filled.
While Ginger Ale’s difficulty with the Statesman, and her desire to join the ranks as an agent, were only just touched on in the film, it does put her in a position to prove her worth in the next film as a field agent. It’s not clear what kind of obstacle they’ll be up against in the next movie, but like every other character’s new venture, it’s sure to come with some growing pains.
Goodby Merlin and Arthur, Hello…Harry?
In addition to the near-death in the first Kingsman, he’s also the oldest agent. This gives him two potential roles to fill. The Golden Circle saw the departure of one great character in Merlin. Merlin served as the intel and briefings guy, who also trained potential agents and manned the computer while others were out int he field. His death was a sad and heartfelt one, but it also left open a potential vacancy for Colin Firth’s Harry. The job itself is distant enough to where is age won’t be a problem, but hands-on enough that he can get his hands dirty when needed.
The second role he could fill is that of Arthur, which was filled by Michael Caine in the first film and Michael Gambon in the second. It’s usually an older character that takes this position, and as a result, it doesn’t feel quite right. That being said, after everything the organization has been through, it could use some stability in the form of a new Arthur like Harry. One other knock against it is that Vaughn had mentioned Harry potentially filling the role in the spinoffs down the line, so perhaps it’s not in the cards for him to take on this job so soon.
All in all, Harry has a few different ventures he can head out on, and with that potential lies even more story options.
As of this writing, Kingsman: The Golden Circle looks to be doing pretty well at the box office. It’s not breaking any records, by any means, but with a bit of luck, it’ll outperform the first film in its theatrical run, making room for this third film to come to fruition.
Are you looking forward to seeing all these character arcs play out? Let us know your thoughts down below!
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