Although plans to make Kick-Ass 3 never ended up happening following Kick-Ass 2’s release in 2013, this ultra-violent superhero property isn’t done being cinematically adapted. Back in 2018, it was announced that Kick-Ass would be rebooted under the guidance of Matthew Vaughn, who directed the first movie. Six years later, Vaughn has revealed some particularly interesting details about the reboot’s progress, though now I’m perplexed by what he has planned for the movie.
Kick-Ass Will Be The Third Movie In A New Trilogy
Yes, you read that correctly. Rather than the Kick-Ass reboot simply launching a new era for the property that started out as a comic book series created by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., it will instead be the third movie in a trilogy preceded by two non-Kick-Ass movies. As Vaughn told Collider, the trilogy begins with an action movie that’s already been shot called School Fight, which he produced and was directed by stunt coordinator Damien Walters. The second movie in this trilogy, which Vaughn is simply referring to as Vram for the time being, is currently shooting, and then the Kick-Ass reboot will follow.
When the filmmaker was asked if the plan was for all three of these “connected” movies for be finished before any of them are released, he responded:
No. So, when this (VRAM) is finished, I think this will launch, I'll be conservative on this, if we're lucky, Toronto, if we're not lucky, Sundance. Well, this year, next year, if you know what I mean.
Now I’m wondering what the thought process was behind tying the Kick-Ass reboot to these two separate, presumably original action movies rather than try to launch a new Kick-Ass universe from scratch. That will surely become more apparent once plot details for School Fight and Vram are shared, but let’s also not forget that when the reboot was announced in 2018, it was also said that Hit-Girl would get her own movie. Has that project been scrapped in favor of this unusual trilogy, or will it be made after the new Kick-Ass comes out and wraps up the trilogy?
The Kick-Ass Reboot’s Script Is Pretty Far Along
Clearly there are a lot of questions that need to be answered regarding Kick-Ass’ cinematic future, including whether this will be a full-fledged reboot, i.e. set in a separate continuity from the previous movies, or if it will exist in the same continuity and be more of a relaunch. However, Matthew Vaughn also mentioned that the script is pretty far along, saying:
We’re halfway through it. There’s a very, very dare I say it... and it’s gonna be a cliche coming out of this head of mine. It is a very, very meta universe. It is what, you know, 'Kick Ass' was reinventing and creating a R-rated superhero and no one was really doing it. This is taking that whole concept to a worthy…not even a sequel, because I think it’s just a whole new way of doing 'Kick Ass,' which couldn’t be more 'Kick Ass.'
Since not even School Fight has a release date yet, naturally we’re a long ways off from seeing what the Kick-Ass reboot will have to offer, but it sounds like Matthew Vaughn is making an effort to ensure that audiences get something special with it. Once more concrete details come out about the project, we’ll pass them along.
In the meantime, Vaughn’s newest movie, Argylle, will be released in theaters on February 2 and later become available to stream with an Apple TV+ subscription. Those of you who are now in the mood to stream the first Kick-Ass movie can do so with a Peacock subscription, and otherwise you can look through the 2024 release schedule to learn what other cinematic entertainment is arriving soon.
