San Diego Comic-Con is off to a spectacular start, as 20th Century Fox opened its panel with an exclusive clip from Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Moderator Jonathan Ross welcomed cast members Taron Egerton, Channing Tatum, Colin Firth, Jeff Bridges, Pedro Pascal and Halle Berry, along with screenwriter Jane Goldman and original Kingsman artist Dave Gibbons.
Unfortunately, director Matthew Vaughn wasn’t present, since he’s still in the UK working on the final cut of the movie, but a video message from him was screened and the sequel’s opening scene was played for the audience. In it, Taron Egerton’s Eggsy is accosted by a character from the first film and thrust into an epic car chase through the streets of London. With fighting and knife stunts included, the action set-piece reaches its explosive climax in Hyde Park, whereupon Eggsy – under guidance from Merlin – drives his damaged vehicle into a lake to find a hidden, air-locked entrance.
Further footage of a drunken fight scene was also shown to the assembled crowd, before some snippets of information were provided about the film. Apparently, it’s two hours and 15 minutes long, without credits, and Julianne Moore’s character Poppy is the main villain of the piece. She’s the ruthless leader of the world’s largest drug cartel and lives in a remote jungle location.
Jeff Bridges, meanwhile, plays Champagne, also known as Champ, and he works for the U.S. equivalent of Kingsman, known as Statesman. Finally, Halle Berry plays Ginger Ale, who’s essentially Statesman’s equivalent of Merlin. The cast also introduced a further clip of the film, showing off Julianne Moore’s Poppy as she engages in particularly stomach-churning villainy. From what we understand, everything that was on display was mighty impressive, which only further heightens our anticipation for the flick.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle is set to be released on September 22nd, 2017.