A period spy drama that viewers have hailed as 'perfect' is set to air on television tonight. The King's Man, the 2021 prequel to the Kingsman franchise, will be broadcast on Film4 on Tuesday, June 16. The film, set in the early 1900s, serves as the third installment in the series, following Kingsman: The Secret Service and Kingsman: The Golden Circle.
The cast includes Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Goode, Tom Hollander, Harris Dickinson, and Charles Dance. The story follows the Duke of Oxford, played by Ralph Fiennes, a pacifist who establishes a secret spy network on the eve of World War I, after a shadowy mastermind known as the Shepherd orchestrates the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
Fans have praised the film, calling it the best in the franchise. One viewer wrote, 'Absolutely brilliant. Best Kingsman's so far! Excellent cast and great plot.' Another said, 'The King's Man is the most definitely the best movie that I ever saw.' Others described it as a 'masterwork' and a 'masterpiece,' with one fan rating it 11 out of 10.
Ralph Fiennes, known for his role as M in the James Bond franchise, compared his character in The King's Man to his Bond role. He told Australian news outlet Nine, 'I'd always hoped in James Bond they might give me a bit of action but I don't think that'll happen. I love doing M but this is kind of a partnership - M is behind the desk and operating from the base and here, not only am I the master spy but I get to get out there... I start off as a pacifist and then realise I gotta pick up a sword. Sometimes a man's got to do what a man's got to do.'
The Kingsman franchise continued in 2024 with Argylle, starring Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, John Cena, Samuel L. Jackson, and Dua Lipa. A sequel to The King's Man, set during the rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany, is also rumored. Creator Matthew Vaughn told Collider that the script has been written and is 'pretty cool,' with the working title The Traitor King.
The King's Man airs on Film4 on Tuesday, June 16 at 9pm.
