This article contains major spoilers for ArgylleMatthew Vaughn has spent the last decade building out the world of the Kingsman films. After Kingsman: The Secret Service was a solid success when it was released in early 2014, Vaughn immediately got to work on expanding the scale of the universe that Kingsman exists within. At first, this consisted solely of its direct sequel, 2017’s Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and the following prequel, 2021’s The King’s Man. That said, with the release of Argylle, it seemed like Vaughn was branching out into a new story for the first time since the debut of Kingsman ten years ago. However, in a film full of twists, turns and reveals, the biggest is saved for last: Argylle is yet another entry in the broader Kingsman franchise.
Argylle
2 /5
- Release Date
- February 2, 2024
- Runtime
- 2hr 15min
Vaughn weaves a fairly complex narrative in Argylle which, even after its nearly two-and-a-half-hour runtime, can easily leave audiences with more questions than answers. While there are a lot of mysteries in the film that are worth discussing, we want to specifically try and tackle the question of how exactly Argylle connects to Kingsman and what that connection means for the future of both series. Here’s what we know:
The Post-Credit Scene Tease
Argylle’s connection to the Kingsman films is not shown or explained at all within the actual confines of the film. Instead, Vaughn follows the modern cinematic universe approach, as the film makes use of a mid-credits scene to establish the connection and tease what to expect next. No, this does not feature Samuel L. Jackson stepping out of the shadows to recruit Henry Cavill to join Kingsman – despite the fact that Jackson appears both in the first Kingsman film and in Argylle. Instead, Vaughn throws audiences for a loop by jumping 20 years into the past, not only to tease a crossover with Kingsman, but yet another prequel film to expand the universe.
In the mid-credit scene, a young man (played by Louis Partridge) is shown entering an English pub named “The King’s Man.” As if the reference was not already obvious, the sign for the pub also brandishes the same sideways K logo that has adorned every Kingsman film. The young man goes to the bartender, places a drink order that is clearly a coded message, to which the bartender gives him a gun and says something to the effect of “you must be in real trouble to come to me.” The young man then gives his name, Aubrey Argylle, revealing himself to be a younger version of Henry Cavill’s spy character that appeared throughout the film.
Finally, the scene ends and audiences are greeted with the cover of one of the fictional Argylle books with text that reads, “Argylle: Book One: The Movie. Coming Soon,” seemingly teasing a film about a young Argylle and an adventure that involves the Kingsman organization.
How Would This Crossover Even Work?
This post-credit scene and the crossover that it teases may seem relatively straightforward. However, the more you think about the actual events of the film and the world it establishes, the more confusing it all becomes. The first major question is regarding the reality of it all, as the story of Argylle clearly establishes that Cavill’s “Agent Argylle” is a fictional character that only exists in the books written by Bryce Dallas Howard’s lead character, Ellie Conway.
Cavill is only ever shown in the film during recreations of the scenes from her books or as a manifestation of Conway’s own imagination that speaks to her in mirrors. In reality, the real “Agent Argylle” is Conway herself (whose real name is Rachel Kyle, or R. Kyle), who had her memory erased and was brainwashed into giving all the details of her top-secret spy adventures by writing them as a series of novels.
So, the biggest question is, if Cavill’s Aubrey Argylle is a fictional character invented by Conway, what does that mean for the film’s post-credit scene? It would seemingly imply that the Kingsman film series exists in the same continuity as Conway’s fictional book series. We’re not really sure what the overall implication of that would be, besides it introducing Cavill’s Agent Argyle, and, we assume the other characters of his fictional world (John Cena’s Wyatt and Ariana DeBose’s Keira), into the Kingsman franchise. It also would add another meta element to Kingsman, as the audience would constantly be aware that the films are really just a representation of books inspired by the “real” adventures of Dallas Howard’s character as seen in Argylle.
However, there’s another wrinkle in this scenario that offers a different explanation. That comes at the very end of the film when, right before the credits roll, Conway is at a promotional event for her newest book when she seemingly comes face to face with “the real Agent Argylle,” which is to say a separate character played by Henry Cavill (with a very heavy Southern accent). Cavill’s character says that he doesn’t have any questions for Conway, but that she probably has some for him. While this scene does not specifically confirm that Cavill is Agent Argylle (potentially an even more real version than Dallas Howard’s R. Kyle?), it does raise a lot of questions.
Furthermore, could the younger version of the character seen in the post-credits scene be this version of Argylle rather than the one in Conway’s books? That would seemingly make a lot more sense, though the young version has a British accent rather than a Southern one. Whatever approach Vaughn will take for the story moving forward, there will certainly be a lot of explaining to do.
Matthew Vaughn Wants an Argylle / Kingsman Crossover Movie
Vaughn has made no secret of his intentions to bring Argylle and Kingsman together in some way. In an interview with Josh Horowitz on the podcast Happy Sad Confused, Vaughn stated that “What Marvel is to superheroes, we want to be to spies,” seemingly teasing that the Kingsman / Argylle universe will be a growing franchise with plenty of potential for crossover moving forward. In the same interview, he confirmed that he has specific plans for how to bring the two stories together, as well as a handful of other ideas for sequels, spin-off films and television series.
Assuming the Argylle: Book One movie that was teased at the end of Argylle actually happens, it would likely be the first extended crossover between the two series, following the young Argylle, played by Partridge, on whatever his mission with the Kingsman Secret Service would be. It’s unclear how that story would specifically tie into the Argylle film we’ve just received, though it is possible that it could provide more of a backstory for the Southern-accented Argylle played by Cavill revealed at the end of the film.
The way in which Vaughn has tied Argylle and Kingsman together, at this point, feels needlessly complicated. It’s more reminiscent of corded headphones that have worked their way into an endless tangle in your backpack than it does a perfectly executed knot that has been purposefully and meticulously woven together. Maybe this will all make sense when Vaughn is able to continue the universe with whatever is coming next, whether that be Kingsman 3, Argylle: Book One, or something in between, but in its current state, there are a lot more questions than answers.
