Just when you thought Eggsy had saved the world from total annihilation, and Taron Egerton’s sharp-suited Kingsman could look forward to an early retirement, a new nemesis emerges onto the scene. Her name? Poppy, a ruthless, psychotic entrepreneur who has been described as America’s sweetheart gone wrong. Or “Martha Stewart on crack.”
And so, by the time Kingsman: The Golden Circle begins, Julianne Moore’s unhinged antagonist has brought the top-secret Kingsman organization to its knees, forcing Eggsy and Merlin (Mark Strong) to uproot for America’s heartland – the mountains of Kentucky, to be specific – to buddy up with their U.S. counterpart, Statesman.
Whereas Kingsman is a quintessentially British organization, the Statesman began life in America’s heartland – high up in the mountains, to be specific, where its HQ masquerades as a rather ostentatious whiskey distillery. Yes, come September, the Kingsman franchise goes global, and we know from The Golden Circle‘s previous trailers that Matthew Vaughn’s ambitious expansion has resulted in Channing Tatum (Tequila), Jeff Bridges (Champagne) and Pedro Pascal (Jack Daniels) joining the cast, all of whom are teased in the massive gallery of hi-res stills below.
The big talking point about the film is, of course, Colin Firth making a miraculous return as Harry ‘Galahad’ Hart. In The Secret Service, Harry was seemingly murdered by Samuel L. Jackson’s Richmond Valentine in a shocking twist. Now, however, it appears as if those reports of his death were greatly exaggerated and Harry only lost an eye in the incident. He’s featured prominently in these photos, too, leading us to believe that he’ll be back in full force for the sequel.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle shoots for theaters on September 22nd. That’s shaping up to be a rather stacked weekend for the domestic box office as well, what with The LEGO Ninjago Movie, Stronger, and tennis drama Battle of the Sexes all booked in for the same date. But will The Golden Circle see off the competition to claim the #1 spot? Time will tell.
