It has now been a week since the stateside premiere of “Kingsman: The Golden Circle,” the sequel to the charmingly pseudo-parody spy film from 2014. While fans of the franchise were ecstatic at the return of Colin Firth, debunking his character’s death in the original, the reviews have it that the sequel is simply more of the same action without much story innovation.
Nevertheless “Golden Circle” looks to be performing strongly enough at the box office. Star Taron Egerton, who plays Eggsy/Agent Galahad II, is already talking about casting possibilities for a “Kingsman 3;” and his first choice for a new costar is wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
The Rock for the third
Michael Vaughn, director of the “Kingsman” films, after his stint at the Fox Marvel prequel “X-Men: First Class,” is also eager to start work on a third installment of the franchise, itself an adaptation of comic books written by Mark Millar. While he has an idea of the sort of bad guy he would like to have for a prospective next film, Taron Egerton is of the mind to have Dwayne Johnson be considered for the role of the main villain.
“I know who the character is and it’s nothing like this actor,” Egerton notes to The Hollywood Reporter regarding the contrast between the wrestler-actor and the potential “Kingsman 3” antagonist. “But I love Dwayne Johnson. I think he’s the right fit for it.” The incongruity between Johnson and the villain role might mean a re-tweaking of the characterization, and that ultimately is up to Vaughn.
Still, the semi-active WWE superstar wrestler has proven some versatility in his acting career, if his shifting from the action like the “Fast and Furious” series and comedy like “Jumanji 2” is an indication.
Other possible spinoffs
“Kingsman: The Golden Circle” reunites Colin Firth and Taron Egerton as similarly-codenamed Agents Galahad, as they struggle to stop the mad plot of pharmaceutical mogul/drug queen-pin Poppy Adams (Julianne Moore).
With most of their fellow Kingsman agents killed in a pre-emptive strike, the two join forces with their American counterpart Statesman, led by Champagne (Jeff Bridges) and assisted by agents Ginger Ale (Halle Berry) and Whiskey (Pedro Pascal).
The film by Michael Vaughn from 20th Century Fox has already made a domestic box office gross of $39 million plus an international take of $61 million, combined with a $104 million production budget.
With the surprise popularity of the new American characters in this sequel movie, Vaughn, in addition to running ideas for “Kingsman 3” with Egerton, is also considering a spinoff focusing on the Statesman agency.
