"Kingsman: The Golden Circle" will have come a long way since the first film premiered three years ago. Fans can look forward to stylized action and villainy when the "Kingsman" sequel comes out later this year.
New details have come out regarding the new antagonist, Poppy (Julianne Moore), who will be matching wits with lead spy Gary "Eggsy" Unwin (Taron Egerton).
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, returning director Matthew Vaughn said he wanted to have a villain just as menacing as Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) in "Kingsman: The Secret Service."
Vaughn expressed, "For this film, I needed a performer who could fill the shoes of Sam Jackson without any sense of intimidation. And someone who could make this character pretty insane but at the same time real."
The director felt that the Oscar-winning Moore was the right choice because she can adapt to different acting environments.
Moore plays a ruthless entrepreneur who deals in the illegal drug business. Her base of operations is a nostalgic '50s-style town set in the middle of a jungle. Her name Poppy suggests what kind of drug she deals in, and explains her choice of location to handle her criminal affairs. To understand the mentality of Poppy, Vaughn shared:
"She has a speech where she goes, 'Sugar is 10 times more addictive than cocaine. It causes more death and misery in America. Yet one is legal. Peddle that s— and you're in the Forbes 500. Peddle coke and you're in jail. What the f—!' So the points she's making are not insane."
The premise is that Poppy is intent to make the drug business legal and will stop at nothing to see that happen. However, Eggsy will be there to try and foil her plans together with returning spies Merlin (Mark Strong) and Roxy (Sophie Cookson).
"Kingsman: The Golden Circle" will hit cinemas on Sept. 22.
