Director Matthew Vaughn made a special appearance at New York Comic Con at a panel where he reminisced about his career so far as well as talking about any upcoming projects. He took audiences down his career path during his humble beginnings starting with his first feature Layer Cake and then going on into his superhero and spy films that came after. After getting a perspective on his career, Vaughn gave fans a first look at his new film Argylle, giving them a tease of what the film is and what to expect. There was quite a lot to take in during his chat, but it was all worthwhile for fans as they got to know the man who directed some amazing films like X-Men: First Class, Kick-Ass, and The Kingsman.
Vaughn kicked things off by sharing some of the major influences that he had growing up. He revealed that he was a fan of Star Wars, Superman, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. The filmmaker also said there were times when he would get projects like X-Men 3 or a Superman film that would’ve been made but didn’t work out with the studios. It wasn’t until the first Kick-Ass feature that he would finance the film himself and suddenly it would be successful, bringing in more eyeballs from film studios to take him seriously as a director. With that success, Vaughn was able to work on X-Men: First Class alongside Bryan Singer which catapulted him into a well-refined filmmaker in his own right.
Perhaps one of the biggest franchises that Vaughn has been known for is The Kingsman. The director discussed making the films and discovering Taron Egerton as a big star in his films. It was through that that he was able to work with Elton John and helped produce Rocketman, hoping one day he would work on a musical someday. He said that the sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle was heavily influenced by 70s American culture, especially with the idea of the Statesman in the film. The same goes for The King’s Man as he took ideas from World War I flicks to create something unique outside of the main films. With Kingsman, the director did reveal that he isn’t quite done with the franchise as he is currently working on the third film as well as a reboot of Kick-Ass.
It wasn’t until the last part of the panel that the filmmaker revealed some more details on his new spy film Argylle. Along with the trailer, fans were given a treat with a clip from the film featuring Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, and Henry Cavill in action. Vaughn expressed how much work he put into the project during the COVID lockdown, feeling inspired by action-adventure films like Romancing The Stone. He wanted the film to be more like a first date with audiences, hoping it would be successful once they got to see it. He also spoke about the cat that is part of the marketing campaign, whose name is Chip. Towards the end, a few lucky fans were able to get their hands on an unfinished version of the novel of the film, which will also be making its way on bookshelves next year to coincide with the release of the film, which will be on February 2, 2024.
