'Kingsman 2' Release Date & Spoilers: Lionsgate, Fox Torn Over Egerton's "Robin Hood" Involvement
"Kingsman: The Secret Service" is arguably the biggest surprise hit of 2015. It was based on a relatively dormant comic book series, had an equally unknown lead actor in Taron Egerton, an R rating and a February 2015 theatrical release. But somehow, the roadblocks coalesced beautifully in Matthew Vaughn's over-the-top spy romp.
The film exceeded expectation and went on to gross $412 million in the box office while garnering generally positive reviews.
Screen Rant reported that within just two hours, Vaughn triumphed in packing high quantities of film elements such as humor, action drama. The report also said that "Kingsman: The Secret Service" has built a foundation for a franchise that "might be a little rough around the edges but delivers where it counts."
Unsurprisingly, a sequel is already in the works. Vaughn is currently working on the script for "Kingsman 2" and has expressed interest in returning to direct as well.
However, Egerton's stock has skyrocketed since the first film. The 25-year-old Welsh actor has signed on to play the lead role in Lionsgate's upcoming "Robin Hood: Origins." This has resulted in a schedule dispute with 20th Century Fox.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Egerton has created a "tug-of-war" between Lionsgate and Fox. Lionsgate plans to start filming "Robin Hood: Origins" in February 2016 while Fox is eyeing an April 2016 production start date for "Kingsman 2."
Even though principal photography on some movies wrap up in two months or less, the scope and length of a historical adventure like "Robin Hood: Origins" makes it less likely to complete production before April.
Fox has precedence regarding the issue since it has a sequel option on Egerton but "Kingsman 2" still doesn't have a script in place. Meanwhile, Lionsgate has already started preproduction on "Robin Hood: Origins." The Santa Monica-based studio is currently casting actors to play Hood's Merry Men.
In the event Fox gets its own way, "Kingsman 2" will start filming in spring 2016 for a possible spring or summer 2017 theatrical release.
As good as Egerton was in the first film, it wasn't all about him. "Kingsman: The Secret Service" was filled with brilliant performances capped off by the natural chemistry between Egerton's talented but unrefined trainee Eggsy and Colin Firth's master spy Harry Hart.
Basing from how the movie ended, most fans assume that Firth will not return for a sequel. Mark Millar, the author of "The Secret Service" comics, stated in a previous Latin Post article that it could still happen.
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of latinpost.com