Kick-Ass was one of the surprise hits of 2010. The dark superhero comedy was called everything from entertaining and ultra-violent to controversial and, in the words of Roger Ebert, “morally reprehensible.” However, the backlash from some critics only made the movie more popular with young audiences, and we got a sequel in 2013. Then the franchise came to an abrupt halt.
Kick-Ass 2 was not the success that the first entry in the series was, making just $61 million at the box office and getting critically panned, even by those who enjoyed the first movie. With star Chloë Grace Moretz saying she didn’t want to make a third Kick-Ass film, it seemed that the franchise was over. That was until now, with director Matthew Vaughn revealing big plans for the series’ future.
Kick-Ass 3 will be just as controversial as the first movie
Speaking with Collider promoting The King’s Man, Vaughn says that there will be “a big reboot of Kick-Ass in two years.” What’s when the rights revert back to Marv Films, his company.
"It’s so fucking nuts that I can’t talk about it. But we’ve got that ready to go. All the rights revert back in two years, and then we’re going to reboot it where people will be like, he is insane."
The original Kick-Ass was a unique superhero movie; its R-rated extreme violence and language shocked many, particularly as star Chloë Grace Moretz was just 12-years-old at the time of filming. However, we’ve gotten plenty of heavy superhero movies since then, movies that arguably push the genre further and better than Kick-Ass.
“Kick-Ass became a new type of genre,” Vaughan said. “Everyone was like, ‘Oh, you can’t make R-rated superheroes. No one will want to see an R-rated superhero. You can’t do this. You can’t do that.'”
Vaughn seems to understand that the playing field has changed. He has some fresh new ideas to make the next film in the franchise stand out just as much as the original.
"So, I had this idea, and it was so nuts that I went, ‘Yeah, great. It’ll cause just as much controversy, and everyone will talk about it, and as many people that love it will hate it.’ But I’m not saying it hasn’t got the characters in it and won’t have, you know. I’m just saying it’s not what anyone could be imagining what it is. And I’m going to need one very, very brave actor or actress to play the new Kick-Ass because it will scare the shit out of them."
While production is some time away, it seems Vaughn doesn’t plan on bringing back Aaron Johnson, who played the title character in the original Kick-Ass, despite Johnson having gone on to significant success. He won a Golden Globe for Nocturnal Animals in 2016 and is currently starring in Vaughn’s movie The King’s Man, which releases in theaters on December 22.
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