Slowly but surely, the casting pieces are beginning to fall into place for 20th Century Fox’s action sequel Kingsman 2.
Oscar winners Halle Berry and Julianne Moore headline the newcomers on board for Matthew Vaughn’s 2017 follow-up. On the other side of the fence, we have Taron Egerton, Mark Strong and, thanks to an official announcement via Deadline, Edward Holcroft, who will be back in business as Charles “Charlie” Hesketh.
Currently a part of the ensemble for Working Title TV’s London Spy – one which includes Ben Whishaw – news of Holcroft’s return may be surprising to some given that he was presumed dead by the time the credits rolled on 2015’s The Secret Service. But low and behold, he’ll be back as the constant thorn in the side of Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Egerton), and it’ll be interesting to see whether Vaughn and Co. have a bigger role in mind for Holcroft.
Lifted from the action-packed pages of Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons’ source comic, Kingsman 2 will feature a script penned by Vaughn and co-writer Jane Goldman. Surpassing – let alone matching – the lucrative success of The Secret Service ($414.4 million worldwide) will be a tall order for all involved, but it’s evident that Fox senses franchise potential buried beneath the toe-curling action and obscene body count. Heck, Egerton’s involvement in Vaughn’s sequel even shifted Lionsgate’s medieval reboot Robin Hood: Origins to the back-burner, after the two productions were set to overlap.
Promising an “international affair,” Kingsman 2 is poised to blast its way into theaters in time for June 16, 2017.
