With the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, the world is now being dominated by the Spider-Verse, but that isn’t the only high-profile movie this holiday season. The final trailer for The King’s Man, the previous story of Kingsman: The Secret Service, has been published by the 20th Century Studios preparing for its release the following week.
While the previous trailers have all focused on the Kingsman organization’s origins and the franchise’s proceeded zany activity, this final stop of the marketing train concentrates on setting off the three major villains of this war romp full of actions. The villains’ strengths and weaknesses were humorously highlighted by the footage, adding to the film’s surreal tone, along with the first focused character – assassin Gavrilo Princip (played by Robert Aramayo).
What distinguishes his character from others is the narrative’s amusing way of jabbing at his connection to the past. Princip notoriously sparked World War I by assassinating Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which the trailer’s narrator praises as his sole power while adding salt to the wound by remarking that his “arm strength” is also his weak point. This is a direct reference to the unsuccessful first try at assassination, in which Princip and his fellow conspirators exploded the incorrect car, as seen in the teaser.
The film scene then shifts to “Super Spy” Mata Hari (Alexandra Maria Lara), who is partially modeled on the woman charged with being a German spy during World War I. While her strength is her most important “screen presence”, scarves hilariously are her weakness. “As ridiculous as these characters are, nothing compares to the “crazed monk” Rasputin (played by Rhys Ifans), whose insane strengths and flaws are left to your imagination in the teaser. This is the kind of villain that seems to enjoy a good show, snarls at odd moments, and is kind of a foodie without manners. Rasputin, like the other two characters, appears to be an exaggerated model of a real Russian mystic whose influence extended during World War I.
The remains of the video ended with several of the over-the-top action set pieces featured in other trailers tagged with the phrase, “Nobility is born in blood.”
The King’s Man is the third and first prequel film in this larger-than-life action genre, in which the untitled Kingsman 3 will participate. Series director Matthew Vaughn just revealed recently that the sequel will begin filming in September 2022.
When The King’s Man arrives exclusively in cinemas on December 22, it hopes to push the limitations of its absurdist approach. Aramayo, Lara, Ifans, Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Harris Dickinson, Stanley Tucci, Daniel Brühl, and Djimon Hounsou will feature in the film. The final trailer is available below:
