''Kick-Ass 2'' is a 2013
black comedy
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
superhero film
A superhero film (or superhero movie) is a film that focuses on the actions of superheroes. Superheroes are individuals who possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films typically feature Action film, ac ...
written and directed by
Jeff Wadlow
Jeffrey Clark Wadlow (born March 2, 1976) is an American writer, producer and director. Feature films that he has both written and directed include ''Truth or Dare'', '' Kick-Ass 2'' and ''Fantasy Island''.
Life and career
Wadlow was born in ...
, based on the graphic novels
''Book Two'' and ''Book Three'' of ''Kick-Ass: The Dave Lizewski Years'' by
Mark Millar
Mark Millar (; born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer and television producer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series '' The Authority'', published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written ex ...
and
John Romita, Jr., and serving as a sequel to 2010's ''
Kick-Ass''. It stars
Aaron Taylor-Johnson,
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Christopher Charles Mintz-Plasse (; born June 20, 1989) is an American actor and comedian. He has performed roles such as Fogell (McLovin) in '' Superbad'' (2007), Augie Farcques in '' Role Models'' (2008), and Chris D'Amico in '' Kick-Ass'' (20 ...
,
Chloë Grace Moretz
Chloë Grace Moretz (; born February 10, 1997) is an American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including four MTV Movie & TV Awards, two People's Choice Awards, two Saturn Awards, and two Young Artist Awards.
She began actin ...
, and
Jim Carrey
James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy te ...
, with the former trio reprising their roles from the first film. The film follows
Dave Lizewski / Kick-Ass (Taylor-Johnson), who joins a vigilante team called "Justice Forever", while
Mindy Macready / Hit Girl (Moretz) attempts to live a normal life, and Chris D'Amico (Mintz-Plasse) taking up the mantle of The Motherfucker and forming a supervillain team to take revenge on Kick-Ass.
''Kick-Ass 2'' was released on 14 August 2013 in the United Kingdom, 16 August in the United States, and 24 February 2014 in Japan by
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
, Universal Pictures International, and
Toho-Towa
is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer a ...
, respectively. The film earned $60.8 million on a $30 million budget. It received mixed reviews from critics, with many deeming it inferior to the first film.
Plot
Four years after the death of Damon Macready and defeating Frank D'Amico,
Dave Lizewski
Kick-Ass is the name of two fictional superheroes serving as the title characters and the protagonists of the ''Kick-Ass'' series, published by Marvel Comics under the company’s imprint Icon Comics, and by Image Comics. The duo was created ...
, bored after having retired from fighting crime as Kick-Ass, begins training with Hit-Girl
(Mindy Macready) to become a real hero. Following the death of his father, Chris D'Amico accidentally kills his own mother by kicking her tanning bed, causing it to short-circuit. Now in control of his father's criminal empire, Chris decides to become a supervillain named The Motherfucker, adapting a
BDSM
BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...
suit for his costume, and assembles a gang of supervillains called the Toxic Mega Cunts with his aide Javier and gains a cult following on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, swearing vengeance on Kick-Ass. The other leading members of the Toxic Mega Cunts include African-American
UFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
fighter Black Death, short-stature mob enforcer The Tumor, ex-Triad gang member Genghis Carnage, and the only woman on the team, former Russian bodyguard Mother Russia.
Mindy's guardian, Marcus, discovers she is still fighting crime and makes her promise to give it up. Dave resumes his life as Kick-Ass, joining the superhero team Justice Forever (which Dave had inspired), led by ex-mafia member and
born-again Christian
Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sepa ...
, Colonel Stars and Stripes. Kick-Ass begins a sexual relationship with Night Bitch, one of the members (after breaking up with his girlfriend Katie Deauxma due to her mistakenly believing him to have been cheating on her with Mindy). He and Marty, who is also on the team as Battle Guy, alienate their friend Todd from participating in their heroics because Todd's superhero persona "Ass-Kicker" is an obvious knockoff of Kick-Ass. Mindy, attempting to lead a normal life, tries out for the dance team at school, and promptly asks a boy to take her on a date after declining to join Justice Forever. The date ends up as a cruel prank planned by bullies in her school, but Mindy gets her revenge the next day, resulting in her suspension from school and her grounding by Marcus when he finds out.
Dave's father discovers Dave is Kick-Ass after finding his superhero costume, and they have an argument which leads Dave to leave home. After his imprisoned uncle has Javier killed, a now-deranged Chris kills Colonel Stars and Stripes, and attempts to rape Night Bitch the following day, but fails due to impotence and has her beaten up instead. Chris's henchwoman Mother Russia kills the arriving authorities, resulting in a police clampdown on both costumed villains and vigilantes. When the police track Dave through his
IP address
An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.. Updated by . An IP address serves two main functions: network interface ident ...
, Dave's father surrenders, claiming that he is Kick-Ass, in Dave's place. Chris, tipped off by Todd, who has joined the Toxic Mega Cunts unaware that they are psychopaths, has Mr. Lizewski murdered in police custody, revealing his true identity.
The Toxic Mega Cunts sabotage Mr. Lizewski's funeral and kidnap Dave, but Mindy rescues him. Afterwards, Dave, Mindy and the remaining members of Justice Forever, joined by a resurgence of masked do-gooders, battle and defeat the outnumbered Toxic Mega Cunts. Mindy, as Hit-Girl, defeats and kills Mother Russia with the help of an adrenaline dose in battle, while Dave and Chris fight on a rooftop. Chris crashes through a skylight, landing in a water tank where he is mauled by a shark.
Justice Forever decides to take a break from its superhero duties, helping people in their ordinary lives instead. Mindy tells Dave that she is leaving New York due to being wanted for murder, but that the citizens need Kick-Ass. As police officers raid Marcus's home to investigate Mindy's whereabouts, Dave accepts the responsibility and begins training and upgrading his equipment, with a much more muscular physique.
In a
post-credits scene
A post-credits scene (commonly referred to as a stinger or credit cookie) or mid-credits scene is a short clip that appears after all or some of the closing credits have rolled and sometimes after a production logo of a film, TV series, or video g ...
, Chris, who has survived the shark attack, and whose limbs and genitals were bitten off by the shark, complains for attention over an out of reach cup of water.
Cast
Additionally, comic book creators
Mark Millar
Mark Millar (; born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer and television producer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series '' The Authority'', published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written ex ...
and
John Romita, Jr.,
former
UFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson's stepdaughter Angelica Jopling make
cameo appearance
A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...
s in the film.
Production
On 8 May 2012, it was reported that a
sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
to ''
Kick-Ass'' (2010) would be distributed by
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
, and that
Matthew Vaughn
Matthew Allard de Vere Drummond (born Matthew Allard Robert Vaughn; 7 March 1971) is an English filmmaker. He has produced films including ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' (1998) and '' Snatch'' (2000), and directed ''Layer Cake'' (2004 ...
had chosen
Jeff Wadlow
Jeffrey Clark Wadlow (born March 2, 1976) is an American writer, producer and director. Feature films that he has both written and directed include ''Truth or Dare'', '' Kick-Ass 2'' and ''Fantasy Island''.
Life and career
Wadlow was born in ...
, who also wrote the script, to direct the sequel. Later that month,
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and
Chloë Grace Moretz
Chloë Grace Moretz (; born February 10, 1997) is an American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including four MTV Movie & TV Awards, two People's Choice Awards, two Saturn Awards, and two Young Artist Awards.
She began actin ...
entered negotiations to reprise their roles as Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl, respectively. Chad Gomez Creasey and
Dara Resnik Creasey performed uncredited work on Wadlow's script to make Hit-Girl more feminine and less crass in light of Moretz's older age. In July 2012,
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Christopher Charles Mintz-Plasse (; born June 20, 1989) is an American actor and comedian. He has performed roles such as Fogell (McLovin) in '' Superbad'' (2007), Augie Farcques in '' Role Models'' (2008), and Chris D'Amico in '' Kick-Ass'' (20 ...
confirmed that he would return as Chris D'Amico who becomes the supervillain The Motherfucker.
Mintz-Plasse expressed relief that a rape and child murder scene from the comic book would not be included in the film and went on to compare the gang violence in the story to the film ''
The Warriors'' (1979).
That same month, it was announced that
John Leguizamo
John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (; ; born July 22, 196013:04) is an American actor, comedian, and film producer. He has appeared in over 100 films, produced over 20 films and documentaries, made over 30 television appearances, and has produced ...
would play a character named Javier, one of The Motherfucker's bodyguards. In August 2012, it was reported that
Donald Faison
Donald Adeosun Faison (; born June 22, 1974) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his leading role as Dr. Chris Turk in the ABC/ NBC comedy-drama '' Scrubs'' (2001–2010), and a supporting role as Murray in both the film '' Cluele ...
would play the superhero Doctor Gravity.
Also that month,
Yancy Butler
Yancy Victoria Butler (born July 2, 1970) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Natasha Binder in the 1993 film '' Hard Target'', Jess Crossman in '' Drop Zone'', and Detective Sara Pezzini on the TNT supernatural drama series ' ...
was set to reprise her role as Angie D'Amico,
Lyndsy Fonseca
Lyndsy Marie Fonseca (born January 7, 1987) is an American actress. She began her career by appearing as Colleen Carlton on the CBS daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'', on which she starred between 2001 and 2005. Thereafter, she ...
stated that she would return as Katie Deauxma in a smaller role,
Robert Emms
Robert Emms (born Robert James MacPherson; 20 May 1986) is an English film, stage and television actor, known for portraying Pythagoras in the BBC One fantasy-adventure series ''Atlantis'', and Leonid Toptunov in HBO's Miniseries ''Chernobyl'' ...
was cast as superhero Insect Man,
Morris Chestnut
Morris Lamont Chestnut (born January 1, 1969) is an American actor. He first came to prominence for his role as Ricky in the 1991 film ''Boyz n the Hood''. He has appeared in feature films and on television series, including the starring role of ...
was confirmed to replace
Omari Hardwick
Omari Latif Hardwick (born January 9, 1974) is an American actor known for his starring role as James "Ghost" St. Patrick, the protagonist of Starz's ''Power'' and his role as Vanderohe in Zack Snyder's ''Army of the Dead'' (2021). He is also kn ...
as Hit-Girl's guardian Marcus Williams,
Lindy Booth
Lindy Booth (born April 2, 1979) is a Canadian actress. She played Riley Grant on the Disney Channel series ''The Famous Jett Jackson'' (and Agent Hawk in the show-within-a-show ''Silverstone'') and Claudia on ''Relic Hunter'' and A.J. Butterfie ...
was confirmed to play Night Bitch, a superhero seeking to avenge the murder of her sister,
Andy Nyman
Andrew Nyman (born 13 April 1966) is an English actor, director, writer and magician.
Early life and career
Nyman was born on 13 April 1966 in Leicester, Leicestershire. His first noteworthy performance was in 2000 as Keith Whitehead in '' Dead ...
was announced to play one of the villains named The Tumor, and
Claudia Lee
Claudia Lee (born Claudia Lee Mirkowski; ) is an American actress and singer who is best known for her roles as Magnolia Breeland on ''Hart of Dixie'', as Bridget on ''Zeke and Luther'', and as Whitney in '' The Outcasts''.
Early life
Lee was ...
joined the cast as Brooke, the leader of a gang of school bullies.
In September 2012,
Jim Carrey
James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy te ...
was cast in the role of Colonel Stars and Stripes, the leader of superhero group Justice Forever. Also in September,
Enzo Cilenti
Vincenzo Leonardo "Enzo" Cilenti (born 8 August 1974) is an English actor, known for his roles in works such as '' The Theory of Everything'', '' Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell'', and ''Game of Thrones''.
Early life
Cilenti was born in Bradford ...
was confirmed to appear in the film. It was confirmed that bodybuilder
Olga Kurkulina
Olga Kurkulina ( he, אולגה קורקולינה; born 1971) is a Soviet-born Israelis, Israeli high jump, high-jumper, bodybuilder and actress.
In the 2013 movie ''Kick-Ass 2 (film), Kick-Ass 2'', she played Mother Russia, a villain.
Kurkul ...
would portray the villainess Mother Russia. It was revealed that
Clark Duke
Clark Duke (born May 5, 1985) is an American actor, comedian, and director known for his roles in the films '' Kick-Ass'', ''Sex Drive'', and ''Hot Tub Time Machine'', as well as playing Clark Green in the TV series ''The Office'', Dale Kettlew ...
would reprise his role as Marty Eisenberg, who becomes the superhero Battle Guy,
and that
Augustus Prew
Augustus Prew (born 17 September 1987) is an English film and television actor. He is known for his roles in '' About a Boy'' (2002), ''The Secret of Moonacre'' (2008), '' Charlie St. Cloud'' (2010), '' The Borgias'' (2011), '' Kick-Ass 2'' (20 ...
would take over the role of Todd Haynes, who becomes the superhero Ass-Kicker, from
Evan Peters
Evan Thomas Peters (born January 20, 1987) is an American actor. He is known for his multiple roles on the FX anthology series '' American Horror Story''; as Detective Colin Zabel in the HBO crime drama limited series '' Mare of Easttown'', w ...
.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began on 7 September 2012 in
Mississauga
Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada. Once filming in Mississauga wrapped in late September, the cast and crew continued shooting in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, at
Ashmole Academy
Ashmole Academy (formerly Ashmole School) is a secondary school with academy status in Southgate, England in the London Borough of Barnet. Under the direction of the headteacher Tim Sullivan, around 1,800 pupils (550 in the Sixth form) are ed ...
. Filming concluded on 23 November 2012.
Music
Release
In the film's opening weekend, ''Kick-Ass 2'' opened in fifth place, with $13.3 million, behind ''
The Butler
''The Butler'' (full title ''Lee Daniels' The Butler'') is a 2013 American historical drama film directed and co-produced by Lee Daniels and with a screenplay by Danny Strong. It is inspired by Wil Haygood's ''Washington Post'' article "A Butle ...
'' (in its first weekend), ''
We're the Millers
''We're the Millers'' is a 2013 American crime comedy film directed by Rawson M. Thurber and starring Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, Will Poulter, Nick Offerman, Kathryn Hahn, Molly Quinn, and Ed Helms. The film's screenplay w ...
'',
''Elysium'', and
''Planes'' (all in their second weekends). This placed it below industry experts' expectation of around $15 million and studio higher hopes of as much as $19.8 million, in line with the first film. The film would gross $28.8 million in the United States and $32 million in other countries for a total gross of $60.8 million, much less than the first film's total of $96.1 million.
Reception
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews and an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads: "''Kick-Ass 2'' falls short in its attempt to emulate the original's unique blend of ultra-violence and ironic humor." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 41 out of 100 based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Audiences polled by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Mark Olsen of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' said "''Kick-Ass 2'' is a lesser version of what it appears to be, an uncertain jumble rather than a true exploration of outrage, violence and identity." Olsen found Hit-Girl dealing with ordinary life more interesting than Kick-Ass trying to be a superhero, but feels the story is marred by bad jokes about bodily functions. He criticized Taylor-Johnson's performance as "a charisma-free zone". Manohla Dargis of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' said "There isn't anything good to say about ''Kick-Ass 2'', the even more witless, mirthless follow-up to ''Kick-Ass''." Dargis further criticized the misogyny and the poorly delivered jokes, as well as the director's failure to grasp the terrible beauty of violent imagery. ''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' said "Like the age old admonition that too many cooks spoil the broth, ''Kick-Ass 2'' suffers from having too many characters and not enough time to deal with them all." Gibron wishes there had been more time to explore the supporting characters, like Mother Russia. He notes the echoes of
Carrie White
Carrietta Nadine White is the title character and protagonist of American author Stephen King's first published 1974 horror fiction, horror novel, ''Carrie (novel), Carrie''.
In every adaptation and portrayal of ''Carrie'', she is portrayed as ...
in the Hit-Girl high school sequences. He suggests a Hit-Girl film would be preferable to "limp, unlikable results offered
y this film.
Justin Chang of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' said "''Kick-Ass 2'' improves on its 2010 predecessor in at least one respect: It doesn't make the mistake of trying to pass off its bone-crunching brutality as something shocking or subversive." John DeFore of ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' said the "Sequel offers exactly the blend of R-rated nastiness and candy-colored action fans expect."
Peter Bradshaw of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' said "The sequel to 2010's punk-superhero rampage has lost quite a bit of shock value – but Chloë Grace Moretz's Hit-Girl is still the coolest thing in a cape." Owen Williams, writing for
''Empire'' magazine, notes that despite the larger cast of characters this feels like a smaller film, and calls it a "faithful adaptation of its namesake source comic" and in the absence of Mark Strong he praises Mintz-Plasse for holding his own as the villain. He calls it a "more modest success than the first ''Kick-Ass''" and gives it 3 out of 5 stars.
Filmmaker
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...
named the film as one of the ten best he had seen in 2013.
Accolades
Home media
''Kick-Ass 2'' was released on
digital download on 3 December 2013, and on
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
and
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
on 17 December 2013 by
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, MCA Home Video, MCA Videodisc and MCA Videocassette, Inc.) is the home video distribution division of Am ...
.
Jim Carrey controversy
Several months before ''Kick-Ass 2'' was released, Jim Carrey withdrew support for the film on account of the amount of violence in it in the wake of the
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting
The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people. Twenty of the victims were children between six and seven years old, and t ...
. Carrey wrote: "I did ''Kick-Ass'' a month before Sandy Hook and now in all good conscience I cannot support that level of violence. My apologies to others involved with the film. I am not ashamed of it but recent events have caused a change in my heart."
Mark Millar replied in his official forum, saying, "Yes, the body-count is very high, but a movie called ''Kick-Ass 2'' really has to do with what it says on the tin," and compared it to films by Quentin Tarantino,
Sam Peckinpah
David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic ''The Wild Bunch'' received an Academy Award nomination and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Institute ...
,
Chan-wook Park, and
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...
. Millar insisted the film concentrated on the consequences of violence rather than the violence itself.
Moretz also commented, "It's a movie. If you are going to believe and be affected by an action film, you shouldn't go to see ''
Pocahontas
Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...
'' because you are going to think you are a
Disney Princess
''Disney Princess'', also called the ''Princess Line'', is a media franchise and toy line owned by the Walt Disney Company. Created by Disney Consumer Products chairman Andy Mooney, the franchise features a lineup of female protagonists who ha ...
. If you are that easily swayed, you might see ''
The Silence of the Lambs'' and think you are a serial killer. It's a movie and it's fake, and I've known that since I was a kid... I don't want to run around trying to kill people and cuss. If anything, these movies teach you what not to do."
Sequel and proposed follow-up projects
In April 2012, while ''Kick-Ass 2'' was still in pre-production, Mark Millar stated that a third film was also planned. In June 2013, however, he revealed that it was not confirmed and would be dependent on how successful the second film was. Later the same month, he further elaborated that if it went ahead, the third film would be the final installment: "''Kick-Ass 3'' is going to be the last one... I told Universal this and they asked me, 'What does that mean?' I said, 'It means that this is where it all ends.' They said, 'Do they all die at the end?' I said, 'Maybe' – because this is a realistic superhero story... if someone doesn't have a bullet proof vest like Superman, and doesn't have Batman's millions, then eventually he is going to turn around the wrong corner and get his head kicked in or get shot in the face. So Kick-Ass needs to reflect that. There has to be something dramatic at the end; he cannot do this for the rest of his life."
Moretz has shown interest in returning for a third installment and would also be interested in exploring Hit-Girl's dark side: "I want to see something we haven't seen yet. Now we've seen who Mindy is, now we've seen who Hit-Girl is, I think we need to meld the characters together and have Mindy become Hit-Girl and Hit-Girl become Mindy. Maybe her natural hair has a streak of purple in it, maybe she really does go kind of crazy and go a bit darker since she lost her father." She also added, "I would only do the third one if it was logical. It needs to be a good script and a director, probably Matthew (Vaughn). The third film needs to fully wrap up the series and has to be a good note to end on."
On 30 August 2013, Millar stated that the film is "in the pipeline". In May 2014, while at a press junket for ''
Godzilla
is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...
'', Taylor-Johnson stated he is still up for a third film but he is not contracted for it and there are no plans for one currently. In the same month, Christopher Mintz-Plasse revealed he had not heard anything but expressed doubt that a third film would happen due to the second installment's disappointing box office performance.
In June 2014, Chloë Grace Moretz echoed her co-stars' sentiments when asked about ''Kick-Ass 3'', stating that "I hope, I wish. That'd be fun. That'd be great. I doubt it but I would love it". She also cited the second film's lower box office gross as the key obstacle to the third chapter being produced and suggested
file sharing
File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs, multimedia (audio, images and video), documents or electronic books. Common methods of storage, transmission and dispersion include r ...
was a factor: "The hard thing is if fans want a third movie, they've got to go buy the ticket to go see the movie. It was like the second most pirated movie of the year, so if you want a movie to be made into a second, a third, a fourth and a fifth, go buy a ticket. Don't pirate it." In August 2014, Moretz reiterated her previous statements and said "sadly, I think I'm done with
it-Girl
An "it girl" is an attractive young woman, who is perceived to have both sex appeal and a personality that is especially engaging.
The expression ''it girl'' originated in British upper-class society around the turn of the 20th century. ...
. In February 2015, Matthew Vaughn spoke optimistically about a "Hit-Girl" prequel. He stated "If that happens, I'm pretty sure I can persuade Aaron and Chloe to come back and finish the story of Kick-Ass." On 17 June 2015, Vaughn stated in an answer to Yahoo that he is working on a
prequel
A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work.
The term " ...
on how Hit-Girl and Big Daddy became superheroes and plans to make ''Kick-Ass 3'' after.
In June 2018, Vaughn announced his intention to set up
Marv Studios
Marv Studios (commonly known as Marv and stylised as MARV, and formerly SKA Films) is a British-American production company owned by Matthew Vaughn. It is best known for the motion pictures ''Layer Cake'', '' Stardust'', '' Kick-Ass'', '' King ...
, under which banner he will produce a reboot of the ''Kick-Ass'' series.
On 23 June 2019, it was announced that a third film is in development under Marv Studios, with Taylor-Johnson, Mintz-Plasse and Fonseca respectively set to reprise their roles as Dave Lizewski/Kick-Ass, Chris D'Amico and Katie Deauxma, respectively, with Moretz expressing doubt that she would reprise her role as Mindy Macready/Hit-Girl because of the way the sequel was handled; the third film is intended to be the last film of the original series before a
reboot
In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...
of the ''Hit-Girl & Kick-Ass'' series is produced.
On 16 December 2021, Vaughn revealed that a reboot is in the works and will be out in two years.
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