The Kick-Ass Reboot Won't Bring One Important Thing From The Original Movies

Before Karl Urban was calling superheroes four-letter words in "The Boys," Aaron Taylor-Johnson was getting his head kicked in for our amusement in Matthew Vaughn's uncouth but original comic book movie, "Kick-Ass." Now, the director has revealed that he's returning to the franchise but with a brand new cast involved. 

While attending a New York Comic Con panel, Vaughn revealed (via Screen Rant) that a new "Kick-Ass" movie was on the cards, set to hit differently this time around. "Next year, we're rebooting 'Kick-Ass,' and we're making 'Kingsman 3,'" said the director while looking back on the impact the bone-crunching comic book caper made on the genre and what the future held for it now. 

"Kick-Ass sort of changed people's perception of what a superhero film is at that time. So we're doing it again. So it's none of the characters from the other Kick-Ass," Vaughn confirmed. "We'd like to bring them back after the reboot, but this reboot is just going off on a tangent that I really can't talk about. But it's fun." 

A safe assumption on the aforementioned "tangent" would be that the film will follow the same route as the rebooted "Kick-Ass" comic written by Mark Millar in 2018. That chapter of the franchise's legacy once again managed to spin the superhero genre on its head and would make for an interesting story to see on screen while still leading to the original characters coming back for one last bit of action.

Much like Spider-Man, anyone can wear the Kick-Ass mask, provided they wear some protection as well. Like, lots. In the 2018 comic, that duty fell to Patience Lee, a military veteran who, after returning home from war, finds her husband has left her in heaps of debt. From there, she takes up the mantle of the Kick-Ass identity to turn the tables on local gangsters who are terrorizing her neighborhood, and rather than shut them down, runs the organization herself. However, Lee's activity under the Kick-Ass name eventually draws the attention of Hit-Girl (originally played by Chloe Grace Moretz, who has expressed interest in returning to the franchise), who has some issues with her old ally's identity being used for the wrong reasons.

Originally, upon its debut, Mark Millar himself expressed his hope that the new chapter of "Kick-Ass" could find life in live-action, even dream-casting Tessa Thompson for the role, although it unfortunately never came to pass. Perhaps under Vaughn's watch, the story might make its way to the big screen and revive the franchise that ended on a somewhat sour note with the below-average sequel, "Kick-Ass 2," directed by Jeff Wadlow. Here's hoping when Vaughn comes back for thirds, it was worth the wait.