The King’s Man UK release date (details below) is just around the corner now, and with the success of the previous two films, the prequel origin story is bound to be another big hit for the franchise. To bring you up to speed on it, here’s everything you need to know about the film, including the latest on the age rating for both the UK and America in our parents guide section below, as well as details on the plot, cast and the runtime.
The plot takes the series story back to where it all began in post Victorian-era London as a group of nefarious supervillains come together with a plot to wipe out a huge chunk of humanity. With the world on the brink of war and destruction, the first independent intelligence agency is formed and so starts the battle to save humanity in as civilised a fashion as is possible.
AdvertisementUnlike the previous two films, which focused on the rough diamond story of Eggsy, the prequel is more aristocratic as the Duke of Oxford assembles a team to fight the fight against the dastardly danger engulfing the world. Grigori Rasputin looks like he’s going to be one of their biggest enemies, but the trailer hints at a shadowy mastermind behind it all, so we’ll have to wait for the UK release to see who he is, unless there’s a reveal in a new trailer.
Cast
Ralph Fiennes leads the cast for The King’s Man, playing the Duke of Oxford, the founding father of the secret intelligence service. He’s joined by Gemma Arterton as Polly and Djimon Hounsou as Shola, both agents working with the Duke to safeguard the freedom of humanity. The film also stars Harris Dickinson as a young soldier called Condrad who is recruited to join the team, along with Matthew Goode, Tom Hollander, Charles Dance, Daniel Brühl, Anthony Taylor-Johnson, Stanley Tucci and Alison Steadman. If you’ve seen the trailer and you can’t work out who plays Grigori Rasputin, it’s Welsh actor Rhys Ifans, who you might recognise as Dr. Connors / The Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man.
AdvertisementWe’ll update you with more details about the cast as they’re confirmed.
The King’s Man UK release date
The prequel is set for a UK release date of Sunday the 26th December 2021, so it’s going to be one of the big holiday films with at least a chance of taking the Christmas number 1 slot. It’s had a number of release date changes over the last couple of years. It was originally due out in the UK on the 15th November 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic pushed it back. There were a number of subsequent dates announced before 20th Century Studios settled on December 2021.
It’ll have competition for the box office top spot from the The Matrix Resurrection which arrives on the big screen on the 22nd December 2021. If that isn’t enough, Spider-Man: No Way Home has a UK release date a week earlier, so it’s far from an easy slam dunk for The King’s Man in terms of the number 1 spot.
AdvertisementWith the winter release, it should then come out on DVD, Blu-ray and digital in the UK around Easter 2022, although with the pandemic we’ve seen much shorter differences between cinema and home entertainment. It’s also a 20th Century Fox film, so it will arrive on Disney + shortly after it’s debut on the big screen and we’ll keep you updated with the latest here.
You can follow us on Twitter to see news and updates on upcoming films, and you can see more on the film in the run up to the release with the official 20th Century Fox Twitter page at twitter.com/20thcentury.
Age rating and parents guide
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has officially announce The King’s Man age rating in the UK with the release date just around the corner and it’s been given a 15 certificate. Both Kingsman: The Secret Service and The Golden Circle were given 15 certifications as well with a a lot of stylised violence, weapons and strong sexual references, so it was fair to assume that the prequel would get a similar classification. For the North America market it has an age rating of R.
Initially, it looked like things might be a bit more refined for the historically set origin story. The first trailer showed similar levels of violence to the previous films, so this will be strong and indeed bloody. Parents guide notes also include sexual references, injury detail and bad language, which have all contributed to the 15 (UK) and R (North America) age rating.
We’ll update you with more details on the film as they get confirmed. You can also check out our movie news section to keep tabs on the latest upcoming films, or visit the 20th Century Fox website at www.20thcenturystudios.com.
Runtime
Like the age rating, The King’s Man runtime wasn’t been confirmed until a few weeks ahead of the the release date, but it clocks in at 2 hours and 11 minutes. Both previous films were a little over two hours, so its in the same ball park as its predecessors.
