Is Kingsman 3 Still Happening With Taron Egerton, Or Will Eggsy Be Retired?

At a time when the James Bond franchise had never been more serious and solemn, in came Matthew Vaughn with the "Kingsman" films. 

Based (loosely) on the titular comic book series created by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, Vaughn's first two "Kingsman" movies, "The Secret Service" and "The Golden Circle," are aggressively irreverent in their riff on the super-spy tropes popularized by Bond. These films are full of cartoonish hyper-violence and crass humor, from a blood-splattered single-take shoot-out in a church to one of the films' heroes sneakily planting a tracking device in someone's nether regions mid-coitus. Is it any wonder that Vaughn's prequel film "The King's Man," which he's admitted was his attempt at a stark depiction of WWI trench warfare on the level with "1917," proved to be one of the most tonally bizarre blockbusters put to celluloid in recent memory?

As you've probably cottoned on, I'm not the world's biggest "Kingsman" fan, not least of all due to the property's conservative (not to mention confoundingly pro-British aristocracy) leanings. Setting that aside, it's unclear at the moment whether "Kingsman 3" is still on the cards. While "The King's Man" misfired at the box office in 2021 after being delayed several times due to a combination of Disney acquiring Fox and COVID-19, the first two main entries were thoroughly successful financially. That and, with "Kingsman" star Taron Egerton assuring everyone that he will not be the next James Bond, the door remains open for the actor to reprise his role as Gary "Eggsy" Unwin once more to round out Vaughn's trilogy.

"Never Say Never Again" isn't just the title of an "unofficial" James Bond film; it also seems to be Egerton and Vaughn's prevailing philosophy when it comes to talking about "Kingsman 3." Since the last time we saw him as Eggsy in 2017's "The Golden Circle," Egerton has settled into a groove as a character actor (even lighting up the screen with a performance that was shamefully ignored by the Academy as Elton John in "Rocketman"). Yet, as recently as an interview he gave to Collider in March 2023, Egerton stated that he has "every intention of playing Eggsy one more time." He added:

"That was always what I thought I was committed to doing. It's the role that made my name, so I suppose, in a way, I just want it to be absolutely right if we do it again, and I want the story to do justice to the part that really changed my life."

Speaking to Radio Times that same month, Egerton reiterated that he's not interested in doing "Kingsman 3" for the sake of it. "It feels weirdly like a long time ago now, 'Kingsman.' I would do it, but it would have to be not just about the concept," he said. "There was a distorted coming-of-age, 'My Fair Lady' thing with that first film. He was very much a kid." This might be the first time in human history someone has seriously compared "Kingsman" to "My Fair Lady," but I do see his logic. The first "Kingsman" film was all about Eggsy evolving from a law-breaking lower-class ruffian into a suave member of high society armed with a finely-tailored suit and a never-ending supply of gadgets. (Also, remember what I mentioned earlier about these films' pro-aristocracy tendencies?)

Few franchise retcons have required quite the mental gymnastics as Colin Firth's Harry Hart surviving getting shot point-blank in the head and dying in "Kingsman: The Secret Service" only to return good-as-new after a small bout of amnesia in "The Golden Circle." Now that it's in the rearview mirror, it begs the question of what comes next for Eggsy and his resuscitated mentor in the franchise. Vaughn hinted at the answer during an interview to promote "The King's Man" in December 2021, telling Collider:

"Eggsy and Harry [will be in 'Kingsman 3'], obviously. But it's the gang coming back together and it's one of those moments that ...when we wrote the screenplay, it was very much about, okay, I saw how people loved the relationship of Eggsy and Harry. So we just came up with this thing, what could be the ultimate reason for them to either fall in love or to hate each other forever? So that's what this movie is all about is will they or won't they, let's just say."

Seeing as Eggsy and Harry were comfortably on the same page by the time "The Golden Circle" wrapped up, it's difficult to imagine any conflict between them in "Kingsman 3" (as Vaughn appeared to allude to) won't wind up feeling somewhat manufactured for the sake of the story. Creatively, it's possible Vaughn is still working out the finer details, which may explain why he's shifted his attention of late toward launching a different spy movie series with his expensive upcoming Apple TV+ action-thriller "Argylle" rather than prioritizing "Kingsman 3." Still, if he can find a way to crack that nut, Eggsy and Harry might be able to stave off retirement just a little longer.