It's been a decade since the original Kick-Ass movie adaptations, following the teenager-turned-superhero Dave Lizewski, hit the big screen, but a third movie installation was notoriously never developed. The first Kick-Ass film was released in 2010, and despite facing backlash for explicit content, Kick-Ass was succeeded by Kick-Ass 2 in 2013. The films took inspiration from Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.'s graphic novel collection of the same name, and the legacy of the comics would rally audiences and critics alike to discern the movies' relational successes and failures.
The first movie in the series was directed by Matthew Vaughn and was well-received for its subversive nature, successfully marrying dark humor and high-energy action. Matthew Vaughn would eventually move on from the franchise, but not before passing the torch to Jeff Wadlow for the sequel that would bring back most of the original cast, including Aaron Taylor-Johnson as vigilante hero Kick-Ass. However, in the face of the intended direction of the films, which envisioned follow-up projects building a wider Kick-Ass universe, Kick-Ass 3 failed to transpire.
Kick-Ass 2's Box Office Performance Hurt Kick-Ass 3
While Kick-Ass achieved high approval ratings in addition to snagging several award nominations and subsequent wins, Kick-Ass 2 did not achieve the same level of success. A continuation of the first film and an adaptation of Book Two and Book Three of Kick-Ass: The Dave Lizewski Years, the 2013 sequel Kick-Ass 2 unfortunately fell short when it came to producing the same heart found in its predecessors. The sequel film paled in comparison to Matthew Vaughn's adaptation of the comic series, grossing only half as much as the original Kick-Ass movie in its box office performance.
The stark contrast in reception is mainly contingent on Kick-Ass 2's failure to emulate what made the comics and the original movie so unique. Instead, the second movie came across to followers of the franchise as disjointed and lacking cohesion instead of a seamless blend of ironic comedy and exuberant violence and profanity. As a consequence, Kick-Ass 2 failed considerably at the box office and obstructed the expectation of Kick-Ass 3 and other Kick-Ass proposals.
Will A Kick-Ass Reboot Ever Happen?
In the face of Kick-Ass 2's lack of success - a Kick-Ass failure that Jim Carey regrets even starring in - there has been discussion of a re-establishment of the story on numerous occasions throughout the past decade. More recently, Matthew Vaughn let news of a Kick-Ass reboot slip in an interview with Screen Rant.
When asked to expand on any vision of revival, Vaughn replied, "So, I had this idea, and it was so nuts that I went, 'Yeah, great. It'll cause just as much controversy and everyone will talk about it. And then as many people will love it, will hate it. But I'm not saying it hasn't got the characters in it, I'm just saying, it's not what anyone could be imagining what it is. And I'm going to need one very, very brave actor or actress to play the new Kick-Ass because it will scare the sh*t out of them." Although fans might not receive a Kick-Ass 3 movie, they will be able to soundly secure more Matthew Vaughn interpretations of the original Kick-Ass canon.