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.
So often a movie sequel is pitched as a bigger and bolder incarnation of its predecessor, and while that may still be true of Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Vaughn has made no bones about doubling down on his target audience. In fact, following its sizeable showcase at San Diego Comic-Con last month, the director was quoted (via Empire) as saying that, “if you didn’t like the first movie, you’ll fucking hate this one. I’ve made this for people who like the first film.”
And that’s more than evident in the new promo we have for you above, which shows us that Vaughn hasn’t lost his knack for razor-sharp editing and witty dialogue. But can the sequel possibly live up to expectations? Particularly after its predecessor scored a whopping $414 million worldwide? Time will tell.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle lights up theaters on September 22nd.
