SDCC 2017: Kingsman The Golden Circle
An Archer-Kingsman crossover was something that never really crossed my mind, but it makes perfect sense, especially after seeing it in action. The opening clip began with Eggsy running on rooftops and leaping from building to building, only it was in animated form. Very similar to the style of Archer. Eggsy finally arrives at Kingsman, but when he enters, he finds Archer in the dressing room, surrounded by weapons he “found” behind the hooks. After some Archer-esque banter, Eggsy suggests they deal with this escalating situation by determining who can drink the most alcohol. Before Eggsy can have an opportunity to pour, Archer has been to consume the bourbon straight from the bottle, and within a matter of seconds, it’s all gone, sending Archer to the floor.
This opening turned out to be a hint of things to come. Not only was it a great precursor to the introduction of the Statesmen, but it would mirror actual events on the stage. Archer is the epitome of American arrogance and ignorance, and the Statesman are a stereotype of the all-American cowboy, oftentimes hot-headed and irrational.
Jonathan Ross came out on stage to moderate the panel and introduce the cast and crew, including his wife and co-writer Jane Goldman. Director Matthew Vaughn is currently still editing the film in London, but he sent a nice video that introduced the first clip, which happened to be the opening scene.
***SPOILERS FROM HERE***
It begins with Eggsy walking out of Kingsman and immediately being approached by Charlie Hesketh (Edward Holcroft), who was one of the rejected candidates from the first film. After a few words are exchanged, they engage in a dynamic fistfight followed by an aggressively potent car chase. Initially, something seems to be off about Charlie; with every sound comes a robotic noise. That soon reveals itself to be a cyborg arm. Throughout the car chase, we see more and more of Charlie’s skin coming off and we see that he’s more cyborg than originally thought. With the help of Merlin back in the control room (COMPUTER GUY!), Eggsy is able to blow up Charlie and come out alive.
Jonathan Ross brought out the cast, including Taron Egerton, Channing Tatum, Halle Berry, Pedro Pascal, Jeff Bridges, co-writer Jane Goldman, and artist Dave Gibbons.
The entire panel was very personable, which sort of goes without saying. Goldman discussed briefly the idea of finding the American equivalent to the Kingsman, and apologized for the American stereotype. The front for Statesman is the alcohol business, located in Kentucky because of burbon, a place we got to see in a clip later on.
In the first clip, Eggsy escaped the police by driving his car into the lake, which of course turns into a boat which he drives to the secret Kingsman underwater entrance. Unfortunately, during the fight with Charlie, the windows broke, and Merlin tells him to hold his breath. When asked about this, Egerton admitted that he had to sit in the car, holding his breath while shooting the scene with only a regulator.
When asked about his character, Colin Firth was very tight-lipped. “Well, I’m in the trailer,” he said, “and I shave a lot.” He was asked later in the Q & A about his role in the film, and he still didn’t reveal anything.
At this point, Jonathan Ross handed out bourbon to the cast with shot glasses, but somehow Halle Berry was given a pint glass, where Channing Tatum proceeded to fill it all up. After some peer pressuring, she took a deep breath and downed the whole thing, causing her to be a tad spacey throughout the rest of the panel. So…is she the Archer of the group? Her name in the film is Ginger-Ale; the Statesmen equivalent of Mark Strong’s Merlin. Halle began saying that as an actress, she explored the depths that her character had to go to, which Jonathan Ross responded with “Depths that Taron would have to hold his breath to go into.”
Pedro Pascal said that he worked with cowboy experts. There was a little bit of back-and-forth on the pronunciation of “lasso,” but when Jeff Bridges was asked to clarify, he just said, “we call it a rope.” Bridges, who plays the head of Statesmen, called Champagne, but likes to be called champ, and, as he said, is “challenged by his vices. Wears booze as a cologne.”
Dave Gibbons drew an original piece of art of Egerton as Eggsy for the audience member with best question. Unfortunately, none of the questions were that great. One person asked “how long is the film,” and after the answer, Ross said, “well, he won’t be winning the drawing.”
The second clip was just an introduction to Tatum’s “Agent Tequila.” Eggsy and Merlin are on a tour of the bourbon factory, and they break into a room, trying to locate something. Merlin takes an ax to a barrel, causing everything to pour out. Tatum appears, questions them, and when Eggsy is about to strike, Tequila knocks them both to the ground and spits at the barrel, sealing the hole. Tatum revealed he was a genuine fan of the first film and begged to be in it, and at one point wears a bowler hat, which may be an homage to Clockwork Orange.
The final clip introduced Julianne Moore as the villain, “Poppy.” A drug lord who lives in secluded in the mountains, her lair is a makeshift 50’s-style town called “Poppyland.” As the scene begins, she’s providing a background of her life to two men, one who works for her and another who is just joining her team. They proceed to a diner counter, and Poppy says that the employee hasn’t been loyal, so the new recruit must shove his friend in the meat grinder. After some intimidating cyborg dogs corner the employee, the recruit shoves his friend in the meat grinder. Poppy orders the new recruit to go to the barber to “get a makeover.” As he leaves, she takes a patty from the meat of the dead employee and begins cooking it. At the barber, a cyborg shaves his teeth down, lasers off his fingerprints, and brands him on the upper chest with a GOLD CIRCLE. Upon finishing, the recruit finishes, returns to the diner, where he is served a juicy burger, made from his friend. After hesitating, he takes a huge bite.
This last clip was AMAZING, and it gives the film a whole different feeling from the first, which is essential for a sequel to have. I am curious about Firth’s role. Could he be a cyborg? Or could he have somehow turned to a Statesman? He is wearing a cowboy-ish jacket in that character poster. We’ll find out soon enough. Kingsman: The Golden Circle opens up September 22nd.
