Is Kick-Ass 3 Happening? The Answer Is Kind-Of, Sort-Of, Yes

It has been a full decade since "Kick-Ass 2" hit theaters and, in all of that time, there has been much talk of a third film. Sadly, for fans of Dave Lizewski's brand of vigilante justice, nothing has materialized. The world still awaits the return of Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl in some way, shape, or form. Fortunately, it does seem like the tide may be turning in that regard and that "Kick-Ass 3" will finally happen. Sort of. It's a little complicated, but we're here to lay it all out and help explain precisely what's going on with the franchise.

Creator Mark Millar may have said that "Kick-Ass 3" wasn't in development back in 2014, but much has changed since then. So, will Aaron Taylor-Johnson and/or Chloe Grace Moretz be back in their roles as Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl? Is director Matthew Vaughn going to return? Is it going to be a sequel or a reboot? It's time to go over all of that and more. Let's get into it.

The primary reason that a third "Kick-Ass" film has not happened yet is that the second one didn't do nearly as well as the first, commercially speaking. The first film earned $97 million worldwide against a $28 million budget, not to mention the tens of millions more it made on DVD. 2013's "Kick-Ass 2," however, made just $63 million against a similar budget and was not nearly as well received critically. Chloe Grace Moretz, speaking in August of 2014, blamed it on piracy.

"You make these movies for the fanboys, but nowadays everyone seems to pirate them rather than watch them in the movie theatre. 'Kick-Ass 2' was one of the number one pirated movies of the year, but that doesn't help us because we need box office figures. We need to prove to the distributors that we can make money from a third and a fourth movie – but because it didn't do so well, we can't make another one."

Back in 2015, Matthew Vaughn, who only returned to produce the second film, also offered some further context in an interview, saying that the idea, at that time, was to do a prequel so that, hopefully, they could garner enough goodwill to eventually make "Kick-Ass 3" a reality.

"We're working on an idea for a prequel of how did Hit Girl and Big Daddy become Hit Girl and Big Daddy. It's quite a fun idea we've come up with. If we make that, hopefully that will be the sorbet for the people that didn't like 'Kick-Ass 2' and then we can go off and make 'Kick-Ass 3.' I think we've got to do this prequel to regain the love that we had with 'Kick-Ass.'"

That prequel never came to pass and the franchise has remained dormant. But with the rights to the franchise set to revert, things may be looking up.

While "Kick-Ass 3" may not happen, a third "Kick-Ass" film is absolutely picking up steam. It's just going to take the form of a reboot, rather than a sequel, according to Matthew Vaughn. The filmmaker first began talking about the reboot in 2021 revealing that, "I'm going to need one very, very brave actor or actress to play the new Kick-Ass because it will scare the s*** out of them." Beyond that, Vaughn explained that, once the rights revert, they have plans to finally make the "insane" film they have planned.

"Oh, you've got a big reboot, a big reboot of Kick-Ass in two years. Big reboot... It's so f**king nuts that I can't talk about it. But we've got that ready to go. All the rights revert back in two years and then we're going to reboot it where people will be like, 'He is insane,'"

It's now roughly two years later and, wouldn't you know it, Vaughn has touched on the "Kick-Ass" reboot again. Speaking with Syfy Wire at New York Comic Con, the filmmaker explained that they have plans to film the reboot that will serve as a bit of a palate cleanser. Here's what he had to say about it:"

"Big update: That [we're going to] start filming 'Kick-Ass The Reboot.' Which is like nothing that's ever been done on film before... Which is very, very exciting. Because I felt with Kick-Ass, I would like to make a Kick-Ass 3 with those characters but I think we just need to use a sorbet shall we say to cleanse everyone's palate, remind everyone that Kick-Ass is crazy and different. This movie will be talked about like, everyone like 'What did they go and do?'"

"It's the spirit of the first 'Kick-Ass' done in a modern way," Vaughn added.

Vaughn and Mark Millar have remained very quiet on the details regarding the reboot. It's also unclear where it would be released, though Netflix did purchase Millarworld back in 2017 and, if the rights are reverting, the streaming service would be a logical home for the project. As for the specifics of the story? The comics themselves may suggest where the story is headed.

In early 2018, Image Comics began publishing "Kick-Ass: The New Girl," which saw a new protagonist named Patience Lee taking over as the superhero, filling in for Dave Lizewski, who Aaron Taylor-Johnson played in the first two films. The synopsis for the first volume of "The New Girl" reads as follows:

KICK-ASS IS BACK—ready to wipe out the city's criminal lowlives, destroy its gangs, and save its communities from decay. But there's a new face beneath the old mask, a new figure wearing that famous green and yellow spandex. Who is this new vigilante superhero? Who can fill Dave Lizewski's shoes?

Adapting this storyline could allow Vaughn and the filmmakers to do a reboot that exists in the same universe as the previous films, which could keep the door open for those characters to return down the road.

No cast members have been confirmed for the third "Kick-Ass" movie which, again, is shaping up to reboot the franchise. During a panel at New York Comic Con (via Entertainment Weekly), Vaughn said "None of the other characters from the other Kick-Ass are in it," but he added that "we'd like to have them back after the reboot." That makes it sound like the new movie will indeed exist in the same universe, but don't expect to see Dave or Hit-Girl in it.

That said, Chloe Grace Moretz said in an interview with Yahoo in 2022 that, "I think we were all really gung-ho for Matt Vaughn to come and do it, and I think that's what we were all aiming for as a cast," before adding "I think if the stars align, there's a potentiality for a third one." That makes it sound like she would be willing to return, so if the reboot goes well, who knows?

As for who might play Patience, assuming that's the route we're headed down? "A lot of fans asking who I'd want as this new Kick-Ass. To be honest, one choice really jumps out and that's Tessa Thompson," Millar said on Twitter in 2018. Thompson, the star of "Thor: Ragnarok" and "Creed," responded by saying, "Can't wait to read. Kicking ass is something I'm highly interested in." But that was just proposed casting. Whether or not that comes to fruition remains to be seen.