Channing Tatum Debuts as U.S. Special Agent in ‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’

The Kingsman agents are back, and they’re not pulling any punches. The Kingsman: The Golden Circle panel just wrapped at San Diego Comic-Con, and the upcoming movie looks just as good as the first, if not better. Actors Taron Egerton and Channing Tatum have a visible camaraderie — or rather, rivalry — as their characters Eggsy and Statesman agent Tequila come head-to-head. Let’s dive right in and see what the sequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service has in store.

Taron Egerton: “Don’t Fight Channing Tatum”

Channing Tatum is the epitome of male beefcake (Magic Mike says it all), and Taron Egerton certainly knows that. While introducing an exclusive clip released at the panel, Egerton commented that it’s never a good idea to fight Channing Tatum. That definitely panned out in the clip, which featured Tatum’s Tequila defending his home turf from Eggsy and his fellow agent Merlin (Mark Strong).

In the clip, Tequila is armed with a hunting rifle and easily knocks out Merlin before moving on to Eggsy. Their throwdown doesn’t last long since Tequila easily outmaneuvers Eggsy and stuns him with his watch. It looks like Eggsy’s rivalry with Tequila will be one of the film’s cornerstones. You can catch both of them in action in the movie’s new trailer, released shortly before the panel.

Much of the panel discussion revolved around the origin of the Statesman, who serves as the American counterparts of the Kingsman. Screenwriter Jane Goldman joked that the Statesman is built around the romanticized idea of a Southern gentleman, which she acknowledged amounts to a stereotype. (Maybe this is just Britain’s revenge on the U.S. for Downton Abbey and the way it over-romanticized British life.) We’ll have to see what happens when the Kingsman and Statesman join forces to take down the Golden Circle.

Halle Berry Is Tech Support (And Can Also Hold Her Bourbon)

Halle Berry’s character, Ginger Ale, has some hidden depths. Ginger Ale is the equivalent of Merlin on the Statesman side, serving as tech support. She’s also a “mixer” (mixologist, perhaps?) and Berry joked that she got chosen for the role because she’s mixed race. She can also hold her liquor extremely well.

During the panel, the cast got passed shot glasses with bourbon, but for some reason, Halle Berry got a full glass. And the cast’s antics didn’t stop there. When asked an audience question about whether Kingsman: The Golden Circle or James Bond was more British, Berry caved and couldn’t answer, feeling loyalty to her iconic role as Jinx from Die Another Day. In response to her refusal to answer, the entire audience in Hall H basically peer pressured her into chugging her entire glass of bourbon. And chug it, she did.

We look forward to seeing more of Berry’s hidden talents when she suits up as Ginger Ale.

Jeff Bridges: A Whip Is Just a Rope

Pedro Pascal makes the jump to Kingsman: The Golden Circle from Game of Thrones, where he portrayed the fan-favorite Prince Oberyn Martell. One of Pascal’s favorite parts as Statesman agent Jack “Whiskey” Daniels was learning to use his character’s bullwhip, and he trained with cowboy experts to get it right and make sure he didn’t injure anyone else — or himself.

Pascal couldn’t quite decide how to pronounce “lasso,” however, so moderator Jonathan Ross passed the question to Jeff Bridges, who plays Statesman leader Champagne. Bridges had a pithy answer, as only Jeff Bridges can deliver: “We call that a rope.” Regardless, I’m sure that Pascal will perform beautifully with his new lasso, given his obvious expertise with Oberyn’s light spear in Game of Thrones Season 4.

Some questions couldn’t be answered at the cast panel. Colin Firth was understandably cagey about how his character, Harry Hart, survived being shot in the head in the first film. There’s also some intrigue surrounding the villainess of the film, Poppy, played by Julianne Moore. Based on an exclusive clip of Poppy released at the panel, all we can say is that Poppy is a 1950s aficionado … and a real bad cook. (Or a good one, if you’re a cannibal.)

Kingsman: The Golden Circle releases on September 22, 2017. Check out our recap of the film’s first half hour, released exclusively at San Diego Comic-Con and the just released trailer: