Matthew Vaughn

Despite opening against the juggernaut that is 50 Shades of Grey, the wildly transgressive and well-reviewed Kingsman: The Secret Service still held its own at the box office, making enough money to ensure talk of a potential sequel. And here we are, about to talk about a Kingsman 2 and whether or nor Colin Firth will reprise his role as the dashing and deadly genleman spy, Harry Hart. Massive spoilers lurk below.

Matthew Vaughn has twice departed a franchise after directing the first installment: first, there was Kick-Ass, which was followed up by a horribly underwhelming (to say the least) sequel. Then there was X-Men: First Class, in which Vaughn reinvigorated the franchise with a fantastic origin story, followed by Bryan Singer’s triumphant return with Days of Future Past. But if Vaughn had stuck around for the X-Men sequel, things might have been a little bit different.

Matthew Vaughn once again proves how deft he is at adapting comic book material with Kingsman: The Secret Service, introducing us to Colin Firth’s excellent action skills and making a star out of newcomer Taron Egerton. Naturally, we’re all wondering if there might be a sequel to Kingsman, an energetic and wild James Bond riff that offers up a world of secret spies that might lend itself well to further adventures. Fans of the film will be pleased to hear that Vaughn has revealed a sequel is a possibility, and it might expand on the world of Kingsman beyond London.

For decades, people have made fun of Roger Moore. Moore starred in more James Bond movies than anyone else, but his entire twelve-year, seven-film run is widely regarded today as a goofy, cartoonish disaster. After Moore retired from the role following 1985’s ‘A View to a Kill,’ the Bond franchise refocused, growing darker and more serious. Now 007 belongs to Daniel Craig, who’s as stern as Moore was cheeky. Craig’s Bonds (and the Jason Bourne movies that helped inspire their solemn tone) have been so hugely successful, that there is an assumption that over-the-top spy movies like Moore’s wouldn’t work in 2015. ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ proves they can.

Believe the hype: ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ is going to kick all kinds of ass (but, like, in a real classy way). Early reviews of Matthew Vaughn’s latest film have been overwhelmingly positive, but we wouldn’t expect any less from the team that brought us ‘X-Men: First Class.’ And if you want to learn how to be just as awesome as unlikely action star Colin Firth, these new videos from the film will teach you how. Oh, and we’ve got a brand new clip, too.

We’ve been seeing previews for ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ for quite some time now, but they’ve only really nailed it with the latest trailer. Thanks to the new red-band clip (which you probably shouldn’t watch at work), the latest film from director Matthew Vaughn finally looks like something we can get excited about ... mainly because, for the first time, we can see that this film appears to be completely and totally insane.

As ‘Batman’ goes, so goes comic-book movies. When Tim Burton turned the Dark Knight into a retro-gothic hero, Hollywood followed suit with a slew of heavily stylized pulp throwbacks. (See: ‘Dick Tracy,’ ‘The Phantom,’ ‘The Shadow,’ etc.) And when Christopher Nolan turned the Dark Knight into, well, ‘The Dark Knight,’ it sparked a wave of “grim and gritty” movies, with serious superheroes doing and saying serious things in outrageous spandex costumes that had been reimagined as biker gear or body armor. (See: ‘Man of Steel’ [Or maybe don’t.]) There’s been some pushback, but we’re really only now coming out of the trend toward ultra-serious, uber-dark comic-book movies.

Over the last couple of days, rumors have been swirling that the folks at Warner Bros. have offered Christopher Nolan the director’s chair for the adaptation of Ernest Cline’s novel ‘Ready Player One.’ While it seems pretty unlikely that Nolan would take the job, a few more names have emerged, also reportedly on WB’s director shortlist: Robert Zemeckis, Edgar Wright (of course), Peter Jackson, and Matthew Vaughn.

The new trailer for ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ seemingly has everything you’d want out of a movie. There’s big, crazy action, Samuel L. Jackson acting like a lunatic, adorable puppies, a supporting cast filled with British actors that you love, and, most importantly, the simple presence of Colin Firth. The fact that Firth is playing a gentleman spy in the old school British ‘Avengers’/Sean Connery/James Bond mold is just a bonus.

For years, comic writer extraordinaire and 'Kick-Ass' creator Mark Millar was a man whose word you always took with a grain (or a pound) of salt. All of that changed when Fox put Millar at the helm of their superhero franchises, using him to help create a unified vision (see: Marvel Studios and Disney). Now Millar's words carry some actual weight! So when he says that 'X-Men: First Class' director Matthew Vaughn is producing Josh Trank's upcoming 'Fantastic Four' reboot, we believe him!