The spy action comedy Argylle was released into UK cinemas last week (February 2), but what might the future of the franchise look like?
The film is directed by Matthew Vaughn (the Kingsman series, Kick-Ass), and stars Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Dua Lipa, John Cena and Samuel L. Jackson.
Set in the same universe as the Kingsman films, the plot of the film revolves around a reclusive author (Dallas Howard) who realises that the spy novel she is writing is mirroring events in the real world.
The film was written by Jason Fuchs, who has previously worked on Wonder Woman and Pan. It had initially been reported that the book was based on the novel Argylle by Elly Conway; however, the trailer later revealed Conway to be the film’s protagonist.
Some Taylor Swift fans later speculated that the singer was the inspiration for the book and film, or that she had even written the book under the pen-name of Elly Conway. Swift is known to like to wear argyle sweaters and she loves Scottish Fold cats, which feature prominently in the film. This theory was later dismissed by Vaughn.
In a three-star review of the film, NME wrote: “There’s plenty more to enjoy here, including Howard’s cleverly layered performance and Bryan Cranston’s witty villain Ritter, but Argylle is hampered by strange pacing and a bloated 139-minute runtime. Because it takes too long to become truly gripping, it ends up overstaying its welcome during the last few big reveals.”
When is Argylle 2 coming out?
Speculation about the possibility of further films in the Argylle franchise began back in July 2021, when Deadline reported that the film would be the first of at least three films. That was later confirmed in 2022.
Vaughn later expanded on these rumours in an interview with Screen Rant, when he said that the next film would serve as a prequel to Argylle, exploring how Argylle became a spy, while the third would be a sequel.
The further films do not yet have a projected release date, although the first film’s mid-credits scene includes the text, “Argylle: Book One – The Movie – Coming Soon”.