First Look At Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman Sequel Invites You Into The Golden Circle

Entertainment Weekly has infiltrated Fox HQ to retrieve the first-look photos for Matthew Vaughn’s action sequel, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, showcasing bleeding-edge, “beyond-Bond” gadgets and a well-tailored Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton).

Two years ago, Vaughn and his writing partner introduced moviegoers to a top-secret intelligence agency known as Kingsman, but with The Golden Circle, things are about to go global. With Richmond Valentine now sleeping with the fishes, a new threat has emerged in the form of Julianne Moore’s Poppy, a notorious criminal mastermind with ties to the titular, New World Order organization. Their dramatic rise to prominence forces Eggsy and the gang to travel across the pond in order to team with the Statesman, America’s Kingsman equivalent headed up by Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges, Halle Berry and former Game of Thrones star Pedro Pascal.

There’s also room in The Golden Circle‘s cast for Vinnie Jones and pop icon Elton John, not to mention a familiar face in Colin Firth – reports of his death have been greatly exaggerated, it seems. When EW caught up with Egerton, the actor teased the ways in which Kingsman 2 ups the ante: “If the first Kingsman was Captain America,” he says, “then this is very much The Avengers now.”

Egerton continued:

For the first one, I felt like if I wasn’t really good then it wouldn’t work. This time, the story still unfolds through my eyes but this is still a true ensemble piece. And also, I’ve had a bit more experience. I’m not asking the crew what every piece of camera equipment does.

When asked about the new recruits, Mark Strong (Merlin) had nothing but praise for his newest co-stars, before teasing a potential romance between his Merlin and Halle Berry’s Ginger, who essentially plays his American equivalent.

“You can’t underestimate the draw of the new actors in this cast. I’ve had people say to me, ‘Wait, you’re kidding me with those names, right?’ For Merlin, the action isn’t just confined to international espionage. He also has a possible romantic in the form of Berry’s across-the-pond spymaster.”

Kingsman: The Golden Circle will slink into theaters on September 29th. If history tells us anything, it’s that this showcase will likely precede the unveiling of the sequel’s first trailer, so stay tuned for more.