In recent times, the term ‘sequel’ is so often tossed around in a derogatory way, used to lambast a derivative feature film that neither hits the high notes of its predecessor nor brings anything new to the table. There are expectations to this so-called rule, of course, and Aliens, Terminator 2, The Godfather 2, Empire Strikes Back and Toy Story 2 all spring to mind as sequels that are just as good, if not better than their cinematic forebear.
One 2017 picture hoping to emulate such a tradition is Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Matthew Vaughn’s star-studded follow-up that – surprise! – welcomes back Colin Firth in the role of Galahad. Reports of his death have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.
When doing the press rounds for another sequel – Bridget Jones’ Baby, to be specific – The Golden Circle was never too far away from conversation. Chatting to Collider, Firth teased the ways in which Vaughn’s 2017 follow-up is different from your traditional sequel.
Well, it’s still my duty to be cryptic about that, so forgive me in being creative in how I dodge that question. It’s no secret that I’m involved, somewhere and somehow. From what I’ve been able to gather, it’s not going to feel like a conventional sequel. It’s going to be something that feels very much its own thing. I’m very optimistic about it.
Bouncing off that, a separate interview with Cinema Blend had the Oscar-winner championing Vaughn’s sequel as “utterly its own thing,” before claiming that The Golden Circle has all the makings to become an “extraordinary” actioner.
I can tell you, yes, I’ve been on the set, and there is an extraordinary atmosphere where I think nothing is going to be obvious to anybody. I think Matthew Vaughn’s outrageousness and the way he likes to subvert people’s expectations, it’s very, very much alive. This is not a stretching out of the stuff from the first movie. It’s going to be a complete and utter… I’m optimistic that it’s going to be extraordinary, and utterly its own thing.
Finally, we caught up with the actor as well earlier this week and of course took the chance to ask him about the sequel – here’s what he told us:
It’s more than my life’s worth to talk too much about this at this stage. It’s no secret I’m part of it. I’ll be in there somewhere. I can’t tell you too much, but it’s going to be very compelling.
Also starring Taron Egerton, Pedro Pascal, Halle Berry, Mark Strong, Julianne Moore, Elton John and Vinnie Jones, Kingsman: The Golden Circle storms theaters on June 16, 2017.
