Be prepared to get a bit confused over how the third Kick-Ass film is going to work. Matthew Vaughn revealed to Collider that Kick-Ass 3 is well into the works, but it’s not part of a trilogy with the first two and instead the third part of a completely different trilogy.
It appears that Vaughn is setting up a meta-universe that’s looking to deconstruct the superhero genre once again, much like the original Kick-Ass did. However, this series of films will be connected to the first two movies – they just won’t be direct sequels. The new trilogy will kick off with the already-completed School Fight, have a second film called Vram, and finally conclude with Kick-Ass 3. And fans should be getting all these films relatively quickly, as School Fight is ready to go; Vram is aiming for a release at festivals next year, and they’re pretty far along into development on Kick-Ass 3.
“We’re halfway through it,” Vaughn said, referring to the script for Kick-Ass 3. “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 an 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.”
Related: The Boys Season 4 Trailer Teases an End to Democracy
A new universe based around Kick-Ass sounds pretty exciting, and it appears this is Vaughn’s way of reigniting interest in the 15-year-old franchise. Ever since Kick-Ass 2 landed, the director has talked about doing more, but he’s been busy creating another franchise with the Kingsman films. Now, it looks like work is finally getting done on expanding his subversive, violent take on the superhero genre.
Of course, a lot has come and gone since 2010, when the first film came out, including the rise of the MCU. When Kick-Ass and its sequel came out, the world hadn’t become completely dominated by superhero films, and an R-rated one was almost entirely unheard of. By now, however, subversive superhero films and movies are a genre unto themselves, with series like The Boys taking off to wild success. How will a Kick-Ass trilogy move forward in a world where its meta takedown of superheroes isn’t so unique?
