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During a press conference for The King’s Man, series director Matthew Vaughn reveals which classic Connery film had a major influence on the project.
The King’s Man is a more dramatic approach to director Matthew Vaughn’s action-packed franchise. The latest film entry brings a heavy dose of period-piece action to the spycraft film. To balance the 2021 film’s historical influence with modern sensibilities, The King’s Man filmmaker looked to a classic Sean Connery-led period piece film for inspiration.
During a press conference attended by CBR and other outlets, The King’s Man director Matthew Vaughn revealed which 19th century-set film played a part in crafting the Kingsmen prequel. Vaughn shared, “I rewatched a movie called The Man Who Would Be King. Afterward, I joked, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to make The Man Who Would Be Kingsman?’ It reminded me why I fell in love with cinema. The idea of an epic historical adventure film but with great actors, great characters, humor, pathos — just pure escapism and entertainment.”
As he considered those elements, Vaughn realized he set up the franchise to move in a historical direction. In the prequel film, Harry Hart (Colin Firth) tells Eggsy (Taron Egerton) the origins of the Kingsmen organization. While Vaughn was quick to admit his initial historical references were slightly off — mistaking 1919 as the final year of World War I, for example — he expanded on the historical elements that caught his imagination.
“I found out about the Treaty of Versailles, and then I was looking into why the war broke out,” he continued. “I’d always been obsessed with Rasputin for all the wrong reasons… But I found him fascinating. It all came together, and I was lucky enough — I thought who could play the Duke of Oxford? Who could play a man that the King’s Man that would spawn the Kingsman, as in the franchise we know? Ralph Fiennes was at the top of the list. We begged Ralph to say yes. It was some brilliant conversations between the two of us, finding this very interesting common ground. I think I got the [almost boyish side] of Ralph out. Deep down, he likes to have fun and he has an adventurous spirit.”
Having someone like Fiennes on the film ended up giving the film more of the dramatic gravitas that the largely action-centric other entries in the series somewhat lacked. Vaughn noted, “[He] helped me engage in the drama more. He told me a lot about that, as well. [It] got me to explore another side of filmmaking… I’ve always been intrigued about serious movies, and drama — films which I enjoy, but was a little bit intimidated to do. It’s not the usual string in my bow, shall we say. So I got to explore that world in the safety of my world. It broadened my horizons, and I learned a lot. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll do Anthony and Cleopatra.”
To see Vaughn tackle drama alongside his trademark action and humor, check out The King’s Man, in theatres on Dec. 22
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