'Kingsman' Prequel Film Coming In 2020, With 'Kingsman 3' To Follow

Even though 2017's Kingsman: The Golden Circle earned less money worldwide than its predecessor, writer/director Matthew Vaughn's spy franchise is healthier than ever. Vaughn is currently shooting the Kingsman prequel film and plans to direct Kingsman 3 right after that, although 20th Century Fox has delayed the release of the WWI-set prequel until early 2020. Find out more below.

The Hollywood Reporter says that the Kingsman prequel (which may or may not be subtitled The Great Game) has been shifted from its original date of November 15, 2019 back to February 14, 2020. There was no official reason given for the move, although Fox's untitled Ford vs. Ferrari movie (directed by Logan's James Mangold) has now been slotted into that prime November slot, indicating that the studio believes it has awards potential when the Kingsman prequel wouldn't. (No big surprise there.) Plus, 2014's original Kingsman: The Secret Service opened on Valentine's Day, and as I mentioned above, the first movie is still the financial high-point for this franchise.Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter, Spectre), up-and-comer Harris Dickinson (The Darkest Minds), Rhys Ifans (The Amazing Spider-Man), Daniel Bruhl (Captain America: Civil War), Matthew Goode (Watchmen), and Charles Dance (Game of Thrones) round out the primary cast of the prequel, which is reportedly about the Kingsman tailor shop and explore the formation of the spy organization in the early 1900s leading up to World War I. Filming is underway right now, and this is supposed to be more of a period piece than a spy thriller.

After that wraps, Vaughn is going to take a short break before diving straight into production on Kingsman 3 later this year, which is a sequel to Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Kingsman 3 is going to bring back Colin Firth and Taron Egerton's characters in what's been called "the conclusion of the Harry Hart–Eggsy relationship." Vaughn has previously teased what else that story will encompass:

"The end of this movie [Golden Circle], if you think about it: you have Eggsy's definitely going to go on a new journey. Galahad, or Harry Hart's going on a new journey. Tequila (Channing Tatum)'s going on a new journey. Jeff (Bridges)'s going on a new journey, Halle (Berry), the new agent Whiskey, is. The next movie is what happens to these characters. They're definitely not going to be doing what you've seen them do before."

Vaughn is also planning an eight-hour Kingsman TV series, so it looks like he's inspired by what James Cameron is doing with Avatar in that he's seemingly only interested in telling stories within this one world. I loved the first Kingsman but couldn't even make it all the way through the second, so I'm conflicted about all of this. If the stories are up to snuff, this is a fun world to play in and a great opportunity to bring a bunch of great actors into the fold. If they're not, well...you're stuck with Julianne Moore grinding henchman up into hamburger meat. Here's hoping Vaughn knows what he's doing.