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While The King’s Man is a prequel to the main Kingsman films, it also sets up a direct sequel for itself. Here’s where the prequel era could go next.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The King’s Man, now playing in theaters.
Showcasing the origins of the United Kingdom’s independent intelligence agency Kingsman, the prequel film The King’s Man takes place decades before the original two films and comic book source material by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons. However, while The King’s Man‘s story comes to a definitive end with the formation of the agency in the aftermath of World War I, the prequel sets up enough plot threads for a potential direct sequel to follow, most notably with a surprise mid-credits sequence that introduces another major historical figure to serve as a possible antagonist.
The King’s Man reveals that an international cabal of shadowy, sinister figures headed by a mysterious figure known as The Shepherd are responsible for orchestrating the outbreak of World War I, with the intent to topple three different European monarchs in the ensuing chaos. By the film’s end, the cabal was exposed by Orlando, the Duke of Oxford, and his fledging Kingsman organization, with many of the villains killed ahead of the United States’ eventual entry in the war to bring about an Allied victory. And while The Shepherd is killed personally by Orlando, the evil Erik Jan Hanussen remains on the loose, seizing power of the cabal for himself. After installing Vladimir Lenin in power over Russia by the end of The King’s Man, Hanussen introduces Lenin to his latest protégé in the mid-credits sequence: Adolf Hitler.
If the Kingsman was formed in the face of the devastating toll World War I exacted on Great Britain and Europe, the build-up to World War II and rise of the Third Reich could be the clandestine agency’s ultimate test. A direct sequel to The King’s Man would ostensibly have Orlando and his associates on the newly founded Kingsman scramble to prevent the outbreak of World War II, only to be outmaneuvered by the cabal’s latest plot as Hitler and Lenin work with Hanussen against them. And while Hanussen and Lenin both die years before World War II begins, the legacy of the cabal is felt in its next generation of global villains as the shooting starts.
Of course, the next generation of Kingsman heroes are already taking shape themselves. While Orlando and his longtime allies would be elderly by the time World War II breaks out, this places the organization’s latest recruit, Archie Reid (codenamed Arthur after the legendary British monarch), in line to become its latest leader. Just as Kingsman races against time to defend Britain from the Axis Powers and their shadowy benefactors, a sequel to The King’s Man could also show the origins of the agency’s American counterpart, Statesman. While Statesman is absent in The King’s Man, its formation is alluded to several times with constant mentions of Statesman whiskey, the business front for the intelligence agency.
A direct sequel to 2017’s Kingsman: The Golden Circle is expected to begin principal photography sometime next year but the espionage franchise could touch back on its untold history, with World War II ripe for narrative exploration. There are certainly enough loose ends left by The King’s Man that could warrant a continuation of the prequel era’s story and surviving characters, with Kingsman’s role in the fiery conflict revealed as the entire world burns this time. And while Orlando and his allies managed to save Britain and King George V from the cabal, Hanussen has gotten away with the last laugh as he prepares a new plot to plunge the world into violence.
To see how a direct sequel to this prequel is set up, The King’s Man is in theaters now.
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