Creator Mark Millar discusses the extent of his involvement in the Kingsman movie franchise and his working relationship with Matthew Vaughn. First published in 2012 and co-created by Millar and Dave Gibbons, the comic book series of the same name revolves young British hoodlum Gary "Eggsy" Unwin as he is recruited to work for the titular British Secret Service agency. The limited series ran for two main volumes and a standalone six-page one-shot issue entitled The Big Exit.
Following their partnership on an adaptation of Kick-Ass, Millar would reunite with writer/director Mathew Vaughn to adapt Kingsman for the screen, with the filmmaker opting out of directing X-Men: Days of Future Past in order to do so. Hitting theaters in 2015, Kingsman: The Secret Service was a critical and commercial hit, scoring rave reviews for its stylized action sequences, Vaughn's direction, the performances from its ensemble cast led by Taron Egerton as Eggsy and its dark humor. This success would spawn the 2017 sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle, which saw a more mixed reception but still strong box office returns, and the upcoming prequel film The King's Man prior to a fourth mainline installment and spin-off.
During Screen Rant's exclusive interview with Millar to discuss the Netflix adaptation of Super Crooks, the comic book creator opened up about the nature of his involvement in the Kingsman movie franchise. With a deal set up at the streaming platform, Millar noted that he only works on titles for Netflix and has technically had no real involvement in the films but that he and Vaughn are close friends and will ping a few ideas off each other before filming begins. See what Millar shared below:
"Well, it's kind of funny actually, because I'm at Netflix, I only work on Netflix properties. I still co-own Kingsman and Kick-Ass, because they're elsewhere, they're not part of the Netflix deal. So I didn't work on it, I'm an executive producer, which means they have to pay me because I'm the co-owner, but I didn't work on it. I've obviously seen it, I've watched it a few times, but I didn't write one line of dialogue for anything. It's a shame, because Matthew and I are super close, we love working together, but we're at different studios, so we can so hopefully one day get to do something again. All we do before filming is we phone each other a few things and then we just gossip."
With comic book movie franchises essentially moving at the speed of light upon getting off to a strong start, it's not entirely surprising Millar doesn't have much involvement in the Kingsman movie franchise. Additionally, with the spy comic book series co-owned by Marvel's Icon Comics imprint, Millar's deal with Netflix for his Millarworld banner does make it understandable that he would be unable to share his attention between the streaming platform and 20th Century Studios. There may not be a competition clause between the two studios, though the extent of Millar's work in comics and TV adaptations for Netflix of his bibliography does keep the creator plenty busy.
Despite his lack of involvement in the Kingsman movie franchise, Millar's close friendship with Vaughn and their constant communication should reassure those afraid of the series moving too far away from the source material. Additionally, given the success of Vaughn's Kick-Ass adaptation, it's understandable that Millar would feel comfortable leaving the spy franchise entirely in Vaughn's hands. The wait for the series' return is nearly over as The King's Man is set to hit theaters on December 22.