Featuring the spy hit ‘Argylle’, ‘Kingsman’ director Matthew Vaughn’s latest gag hit theaters on February 1, 2023. In addition to a fantastic cast and crazy action scenes, there is also a turbulent spy story with double agents and a new author who “accidentally” discovers a gigantic secret service conspiracy. And to be honest, all the names, twists, and turns the movie takes can really make your head spin.
However, the ending of the film will likely cause a lot of confusionbecause here it turns out that the character of the super spy Aubrey Argylle, played by Henry Cavill, is not only an extremely statuesque manifestation of the agent subconscious of Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard), because she is actually Rachel Kylle, but that there really seems to be an Aubrey To be Argylle!?
Who’s the man with the mullet?
This is the final scene: During a book launch of Elly Conway’s latest bestseller, a man from the audience speaks – and he looks strangely familiar, because it is clearly Henry Cavill, who embodies the fictional agent Argylle in the film. But instead of the super agent’s quirky crew cut, he now wears a fashionably questionable mullet. With a cheeky grin, he approached the author and asked her if she had a few questions for him.
Yes, we would have! Because it is not clear who exactly it concerns. And even a final mid-credits scene doesn’t help us understand what just happened here. Instead, more questions arise. The scene takes place twenty years before the events of “Argylle”: a young man walks into the “King’s Men Pub” somewhere in a remote part of England. After a short and extremely cryptic conversation with the bartender, he hands him a small weapon – and the young guy introduces himself as Aubrey Argylle.
Will there be an Argylle prequel?
What is this all about? There is no clear answer to this. The most obvious explanation: a possible sequel is already being prepared here, which could focus on the story of the real agent Aubrey Argylle. A quasi-prequel.
The poster that appears after the mid-credits scene is no less confusing. Here you can read that the first part of the Argylle novels will soon find its way to the cinema. So was the mid-credits scene a semi-teaser for a possible spin-off dealing with the adventures of fictional character Aubrey Argylle? So that would be the actual film adaptation of the novels written by Elly Conway…
Or perhaps the mid-credits scene takes place in the same reality as the adventures of Elly Conway and Aidan (Sam Rockwell)? Henry Cavill’s performance in the final scene would speak to this. Perhaps the character who speaks to Elly Conway throughout the film and gives her advice is not just the figment of her subconscious, but a previously unknown agent of flesh and blood. After all, there is a lot imaginable in this bubblegum James Bond world. It’s entirely possible that the fictional super agent Argylle really exists and that he has found a way to communicate directly with Elly unnoticed – perhaps via a chip in the brain?
A real brainteaser until the end
Even after the credits roll, many questions still remain unanswered — including whether “Argylle” can be read as part of the “Kingsman” cinematic universe via the final mid-credits scene or if it’s just a fun cross-reference from the director. You get the feeling that director Matthew Vaughn really wanted to leave all the story doors open for the next part. And somehow, confusion is part of the movie concept.
Whether we’ll ever get a straight answer to these questions will likely also depend on how well the spy comedy thriller “Argylle” does at the box office and later on the Apple TV+ subscription. With a budget of just under $200 million, the film should do well.
In the meantime, if you want to hear what the spy podcasters of the FILMSTARTS talk format “Leinwandliebe” have to say about Matthew Vaughn’s twisted blockbuster, listen here.
Moderator Sebastian talks to his guests Pascal and Stefan about ‘Argylle’ in the podcast and clarifies the question of how much fun the meta-cop actor actually is and whether the film’s star power is enough to compete with top dog James Bond.
And if you want to find out what the artist wants to tell us with this cryptic ending, you can currently do so in theaters. The film has been in theaters nationwide since February 1, 2024.