20th Century Fox has released a new trailer for The King’s Man. The film—which was put together rather quickly and quietly—traces the origins of the spy franchise that director Matthew Vaughn brought to life in 2014’s Kingsman: The Secret Service and 2017’s sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle. The official logline teases that “a collection of history’s worst tyrants and criminal masterminds gather to plot a war to wipe out millions,” which in turn spurs the creation of Kingsman. So it looks like tyrants and criminals were behind World War I, and not a complex web of geopolitics that culminated in the first appearance of industrialized warfare. Good to know.
While I liked the first Kingsman (aside from some very record-scratch, cringeworthy moments), the sequel was a bit of a bust, and I’m not really sure what to make of this one. It feels a bit like they thought Wonder Woman gave the go-ahead to make a blockbuster set during World War I, but Wonder Woman still seems to respect that setting whereas this trailer is blasting Black Sabbath and Vaughn is known for his irreverence. Granted, no one wants to be the “Too soon!” guy for World War I, but the casual attitude towards massive, real-world suffering strikes a weird tone, and I don’t know how the film aims to reconcile the actual event with the fantastic spy stuff. We’ll find out in February.
Check out the new The King’s Man trailer below. The film opens February 14, 2020 and stars Ralph Fiennes, Harris Dickinson, Rhys Ifans, Tom Hollander, Daniel Bruhl, Gemma Arterton, Matthew Goode, and Charles Dance.
Here’s the official synopsis for The King’s Man:
As a collection of history’s worst tyrants and criminal masterminds gather to plot a war to wipe out millions, one man must race against time to stop them. Discover the origins of the very first independent intelligence agency in The King’s Man, directed by Matthew Vaughn, coming to theaters February 2020.
