'Kick-Ass 2' Red-Band International Trailer: Little New Footage, Better Effects

There's a new red-band trailer for Jeff Wadlow's Kick-Ass 2, and while the edit features only a shred of new footage, it does feature some better digital compositing and probably closer-to-final contrast tweaks and color grading to help elements co-exist. Notably, the bit towards the end with Hit Girl riding atop a cargo van now looks much better; see a screenshot below for a comparison. Otherwise, this is basically the same trailer that you've seen before, with Kick-Ass and Hit Girl fighting off the new wave of villains led by a re-branded Red Mist.

Kick-Ass creator Mark Millar said this yesterday:

Is this trailer the big thing? Probably not, but chances are it points to another new US footage release.

Here's a comparison of one shot seen in both this new trailer (bottom) and the earlier footage releases (top). No question it has been changed, with a background that looks new, not just with better color balance, and in motion it looks much better. (This sort of effects tweak happens all the time, as early trailer releases often feature shots that aren't even close to completion.)

ka-2-comparison-betterKick-Ass 2 opens on August 16. It stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace MoretzChristopher Mintz-Plasse, Jim Carrey, Clark DukeDonald FaisonJohn Leguizamo, and Olga Kurkulina.

Kick-Ass, Hit Girl and Red Mist return for the follow-up to 2010's irreverent global hit: Kick-Ass 2. After Kick-Ass' (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) insane bravery inspires a new wave of self-made masked crusaders, led by the badass Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey), our hero joins them on patrol. When these amateur superheroes are hunted down by Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse)—reborn as The Mother F%&*^r—only the blade-wielding Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) can prevent their annihilation. When we last saw junior assassin Hit Girl and young vigilante Kick-Ass, they were trying to live as normal teenagers Mindy and Dave. With graduation looming and uncertain what to do, Dave decides to start the world's first superhero team with Mindy.

Unfortunately, when Mindy is busted for sneaking out as Hit Girl, she's forced to retire—leaving her to navigate the terrifying world of high-school mean girls on her own. With no one left to turn to, Dave joins forces with Justice Forever, run by a born-again ex-mobster named Colonel Stars and Stripes. Just as they start to make a real difference on the streets, the world's first super villain, The Mother F%&*^r, assembles his own evil league and puts a plan in motion to make Kick-Ass and Hit Girl pay for what they did to his dad. But there's only one problem with his scheme: If you mess with one member of Justice Forever, you mess with them all.