It’s fair to say, at this point, we have a basic idea of what filmmaker Matthew Vaughn intends for “Kick-Ass 3,” or a continuation of the “Kick-Ass” franchise, anyhow. The director of “Agylle” and the “Kingsman” franchise has recently gone on record saying that more “Kick-Ass” is on the way and that he hopes to reboot the franchise.
“’ Kick-Ass’ changed people’s perception of what a superhero film is. We’re doing it again,” Vaughn said last fall. “None of the other characters from the other ‘Kick-Ass’ are in it, though we’d like to have them back after the reboot. I can’t really talk about it, but it’s fun!”
Most assumed this meant Vaughn would be back in the director’s chair, helming whatever iteration of ‘Kick-Ass’ comes next. However, we just spoke to the filmmaker for “Argylle,” and he clarified that he won’t be directing but has a filmmaker in mind and even a cast all set. Seemingly, it’s all ready to go.
“I have a director, I have the cast, I have the concept,” he revealed, obviously not naming names or spilling secrets just yet.
Vaughn also circuitously explained why he wasn’t directing himself before we even had a chance to ask, suggesting he can’t just keep doing everything himself because it takes a village, and there are only so many films he can make himself.
“I just have to— it’s pretty extraordinary,” he explained, somewhat discursively. “Every time I do these interviews, everyone’s always asking about all these millions of movies that we should or could be making, but I’ve just got to put some infrastructure in my life because being the one-man band and playing all the instruments…a) I’m getting too tired, but b) you know, there’s no such thing as a one-man orchestra, and that’s what we need to build right now.”
In 2010, “Kick-Ass” was very novel and a new way to tackle the superhero genre. Fourteen years have passed, and a lot has changed. Asked how “Kick-Ass” will differentiate itself from superheroes, Vaughn suggested the reboot would comment on the state of superhero movies and that culture and would once again reinvent the genre.
Our managing editor, Charles Barfield, mentioned he had an inkling of where the film could go, and Vaughn quickly interjected. “I guarantee you have no idea what it is. If you get it right, I’ll make you an executive producer.” (Charles gave his pitch, and Vaughn said, “Wrong!”)
“Let’s just put it this way,” Vaugh said, beginning to tease where the reboot would go without spoiling things. “The most important line in’ Kick-Ass’ was… two lines [were]… ‘why does everyone want to be Paris Hilton, no one wants to be Spider-Man’—which I think is fascinating because remember that was a new thing… the whole reality star thing, that was a big thing, and ‘With no power comes no responsibility,’ so those were the two hooks.”
“So we’ve taken those two ideas, and we [now] have to reflect,” he continued. “’ Kick-Ass,’ the reboot is a reflection of the world we now live in and what’s happened to superhero films and comics and where we are now.”
Vaughn said he was cognizant of how the original film was shot in the arm of the genre; he wants the audience to feel the same way about the reboot, and he sounds very confident they’ll be “very surprised.”
“‘Kick-Ass’ was a, ‘Hey, this is new and fresh and new way of looking at [things],’ so we’ve had to do that again. So all I can say is people will be very surprised. And I didn’t want to go back to the world of ‘Kick-Ass’ just to do a ‘Kick-Ass 3,’ and it’s the same, but it’s not the same. It’s not what anyone expects, but there will be enough in it for people to go, ‘OK, that’s different, but it’s pretty damn cool.’”
“Argylle” is in theaters now (read our review). Listen to the entire conversation below.