The Correct Order To Watch The Kingsman Movies
For nearly a decade, audiences have been entertained by the secret organization known as The Kingsman in director Matthew Vaughn's series of spy movies that began in 2014 with "Kingsman: The Secret Service." Based on writer Mark Millar and artist Dave Gibbons Millarworld comic book series of the same name, Vaughn's movie adaptation was a big hit that spawned a franchise that has, to date, produced three movies — and more could be on the way.
Be it "Kingsman 3," another prequel film, a spin-off of some sort, or even a TV show, Vaughn seems intent on keeping this universe alive. But for those looking to catch up — or perhaps revisit — the series to date, we're here to go over the correct order to watch the movies in the franchise that have already been released. So, if we ever do get more from Taron Egerton's Eggsy or any of the other Kingsman in the future, you'll be ready. Let's get into it.
The proper viewing order for the Kingsman movies?
Some franchises make it a little difficult to figure out where to begin. The "Halloween" series, for example, is a total mess of different sequels across various timelines and reboots. Or there's the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has multiple intersecting stories across three dozen films. Fortunately, in this case, we're dealing with a very straightforward situation where we have just three movies and the release order is the correct order. That order is as follows:
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"Kingsman: The Secret Service" (2014)
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"Kingsman: The Golden Circle" (2017)
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"The King's Man" (2021)
Simple as that! It all kicked off with "The Secret Service," which boasts a cast led by Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, and Samuel L. Jackson. That gave way for a direct sequel, "The Golden Circle," which brought back much of the original cast as well as American newcomers like Jeff Bridgets, Channing Tatum, and Pedro Pascal, who made up the Statesman. Julianne Moore also appeared as that film's villain. Both movies were equally successful, together taking in just over $400 million at the global box office. That's a good thing too, given that Vaughn turned down directing "X-Men: Days of Future Past" to make "Kingsman" instead.
Rather than go right ahead and make "Kingsman 3," Vaughn opted to make a prequel, which took the action way back to World War I and focused on the early days of the storied spy organization, with actors like Ralph Fiennes, Harris Dickinson, and Gemma Arterton taking things in a new direction. The future of the series could easily go one of two ways: a direct sequel to "The King's Man" or circling back to Eggsy and the gang for another proper sequel.
Can you watch The King's Man First?
While the proper viewing order for this franchise is the release order, one might reasonably wonder if watching "The King's Man" first would be acceptable. It is a prequel after all and theoretically wouldn't be an incorrect way to go about diving into this universe. That said, for first-timers anyway, it's probably best to stick with the release order here as it feels like the best way to get the most out of this universe filled with covert spies and dastardly villains.
"The Secret Service" does the best job of serving as an introduction to this universe, with likable characters, ridiculously fun action, and a compelling narrative. It is also the best-reviewed movie in the series by far. That's not to say that the other movies don't have their fans, but the reception has been a bit more mixed. That being the case, it wouldn't be wise to possibly set viewers off on the wrong path with a less-than-stellar taste in their mouths. "The King's Man" works best as something to be enjoyed after becoming familiar with this world rather than an introduction.