One need only look to Lionsgate’s decision to delay medieval reboot Robin Hood: Origins to get an idea of 20th Century Fox’s enthusiasm to push ahead with Kingsman 2. It all came down to leading star Taron Egerton, who is involved in both projects, and now that the studio has set its sights on an April start, BoxOffice brings word of the sequel locking down a release date: June 16, 2017.
Welcoming back Egerton’s now fully-trained agent to the fold, it’s understood that Matthew Vaughn is currently writing the script alongside Jane Goldman, once again tapping Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons’s source material. The real question, however, is which direction the scribes will steer Fox’s budding new franchise. Since its overly surprising box office success earlier in the year – pulling in a respectable box office haul of $400 million – Vaughn has teased a number of possible directions for the sequel, including a jump to the States and the possibility of releasing a prequel to incorporate Colin Firth’s Harry Hart.
[zerg]Beyond that, though, there’s no word on any of the remaining cast members reprising their roles for Fox’s follow-up – such as Mark Strong or Sophie Cookson – nor has Vaughn openly committed to directing Kingsman 2. History has taught us that the director isn’t too keen on helming sequels, considering that Jeff Wadlow supplanted him in the chair for Kick-Ass 2, but so long as Vaughn is involved in some capacity – writing and likely producing – we’re confident that the stealthy sequel is in very safe hands.
Primed to shift the focus across the pond and onto an American version of the titular, clandestine organization, Kingsman 2 will serve up another dose of eye-popping action on June 16, 2017 – opening opposite Disney-Pixar’s sequel, Cars 3, incidentally.