Matthew Vaughn Will Helm Spy Thriller I AM PILGRIM; What Does This Mean For KINGSMAN 2?
MGM will be teaming up with the very talented Kingsman: The Secret Service & X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn to bring Terry Hayes' best-selling espionage thriller I Am Pilgrim to the big screen. But what does this mean for Kingsman 2? Read on for more...
Matthew Vaughn is making another spy movie! Hot off finding strong commercial success with Kingsman: The Secret Service earlier this year, the popular British director is set to helm a big screen adaptation of Terry Hayes' espionage thriller I Am Pilgrim. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he will also produce the film, based on a script adapted by Hayes himself. Apparently, MGM view this as a potential franchise, and production will begin in 2016.
Per THR, the story follows “Pilgrim,” code name for a man who doesn’t exist. The adopted son of a wealthy American family, he once headed up a secret espionage unit for U.S. intelligence. Now in anonymous retirement, he is called upon to lend his expertise to an unusual investigation but ultimately becomes caught in a terrifying race against time to save America from a cunning terrorist.
But what does this mean for Kingsman 2? Last we heard Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman were hard at work writing the sequel, with the former potentially directing too. This development would appear to throw a spanner in the works there, with production on I Am Pilgrim set to begin next year. This wouldn't be the first time Vaughn's passed up the opportunity to direct a sequel in favor of something more original - having declined to direct both Kick-Ass 2 & X-Men: Days Of Future Past.
However, Vaughn's frequent partner in crime and original Kingsman writer Mark Millar seems to think he'll have time to helm the sequel first - tweeting out this in response to the news:
Which movie would you like to see Vaughn tackle first? I Am Pilgrim or Kingsman 2? As always, be sure to sound off with your thoughts in the comments below!