When you boil down the story of Kingsman: The Secret Service to one basic story beat, it's a story about the haves versus the have-nots. Nowhere was this clearer than the conflict between Taron Egerton's Eggsy and Edward Holcroft's Charlie – the former Kingsman recruit that was secretly in on big bad Valentine's master plan. Despite the assumption that Charlie was taken out during the literally mind-blowing finale, it appears that Charlie is still in the game – and coming back for round 2.
The return of Eggsy's arch-nemesis was reported by Deadline, as Edward Holcroft has been named as a returning cast member for Kingsman 2. Holcroft is the latest name to have appeared linked to the project, as Halle Berry and Julianne Moore have both also been tipped for key roles in the Matthew Vaughan sequel. His return may confuse audience members who thought that his character was, indeed, extinguished. However, if you go back and watch the original film closely, there's a pretty big loophole that Charlie could have fallen through, leading to his participation in Kingsman 2.
Going back to the scene in Kingsman: The Secret Service where Charlie is exposed as a turncoat, Eggsy escapes by using his signet ring to electrocute Charlie's right temple – thus disabling his captor and allowing him to escape custody. This electrical current very easily could have overloaded the chip in Charlie's head, thus preventing him from turning into a psychedelic human firework. But whether all of the lines up or not, Charlie's return could set him up as a Blofeld-esque figure who wants to kill Eggsy, as well as take over the world. He may not move into the role of a full-blown megalomaniac just yet, but if Kingsman 2 is keen on setting up a more extended franchise run, this is probably the best way to go.
Naturally, Edward Holcroft's return is not only good for the overall story of Kingsman 2, it's a well-earned feather in the still developing cap known as Holcroft's career. As his role in Matthew Vaughn's 2015 original was only his second film, the fact that Holcroft is already part of a developing franchise is something worth crowing about. Not to mention the fact that Holcroft's career in the field of Television has seen him working on such prolific mini-series as London Spy, and the Golden Globe winning Wolf Hall; the latter of which also saw Academy Award winner Mark Rylance in its cast. With the firm foundation of his current credits, Kingsman 2 could be just the gig that Edward Holcroft needs to cement his career, and start drawing more gigs into his court.
Kingsman 2 is currently penciled in for a June 16, 2017 release date.
