It’s been a little while since fans of the upcoming Kingsman: The Golden Circle have had any news on what might be in store for them. The sequel to director Matthew Vaughn’s impressive 2014’s Kingsman: The Secret Service has had sporadic revelations since it was announced, but with less than a year to go before The Golden Circle arrives in theaters, fans are still very much in the dark.

Perhaps the biggest bit of news that’s been available as of late is that despite being shot at point blank range in the head in the first film, Harry Hart (Colin Firth) will be returning for the sequel. How exactly his return will be explained or to what degree Firth will participate in the sequel remains completely unknown at this point – piquing the curiosity of many Kingsman fans.

Recently however, Firth spoke with Collider about his return to the Kingsman franchise, but the actor was unable to divulge much about what Harry Hart’s return would entail. What Firth would say is that The Golden Circle seems poised to surprise, since expectations are farther off the mark than many realize. Beyond that, Firth was true to his duty of remaining tight lipped on the question of his character and the film as a whole:

Well, it’s still my duty to be cryptic about that, so forgive me in being creative in how I dodge that question. It’s no secret that I’m involved, somewhere and somehow. From what I’ve been able to gather, it’s not going to feel like a conventional sequel. It’s going to be something that feels very much its own thing. I’m very optimistic about it.

I can’t give too much away about in what capacity I’m back. A lot of people have speculated and a lot of people have come to the wrong conclusions about it. I want to keep the surprise alive, a little longer. I think they’re going to be surprised again.

To date, The Golden Circle has built up an impressive cast list that includes Julian Moore, Channing Tatum, Elton John, Jeff Bridges, Vinnie Jones, Pedro Pascal, Halle Berry and of course, Taron Egerton and Mark Strong resuming their respective roles as Gary “Eggsy” Unwin and Merlin. We do know that this time around the plot will involve the American counterpart to the British Kingsman organization – known as The Statesman – but as far as any advance knowledge on what The Golden Circle actually is, only time will tell.

Firth’s cagey statements about Harry Hart’s return will certainly entice more than a few Kingsman fans to further expand their efforts at cracking the mystery. It’s great to see a film sequel that has maintained its secrecy this long and The Golden Circle’s ability to create such a puzzle out of the return of Harry Hart makes waiting for the arrival of the film all that much more fun. Hopefully Hart’s involvement in the story won’t be leaked any time soon, as the secrecy helps to more fully realize what is already intended to be an unconventional sequel.

If The Golden Circle can retain even half of what made Kingsman so much fun, then audiences should have a blast upon the film’s release. Part of what made Kingsman so successful is that aside from those who were familiar with the Mark Millar graphic novel, the majority of audiences went in being able to be surprised by what they saw. Judging by what we’ve heard (or rather, haven’t heard) thus far, Matthew Vaughn looks to once again be aiming for that sort of experience.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle will be released on June 16, 2017

Source: Collider