We’ve been waiting a while for our first full look at director Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle. That’s especially true, as the only brief glimpse we’ve been given showed little more that Henry Cavill’s insane haircut, and a very dangerous looking Dua Lipa. Well, the cat’s out of the bag now, as the Bryce Dallas Howard starring film from the 2024 movie schedule has released its first trailer. Not to mention a bunch of information that hints at some of the real world dealings that have surrounded this new adventure.
Universal Pictures delivered the first trailer for Vaughn’s latest espionage romp, and its got an insane cast. The movie follows Howard's protagonist Elly Conway, who is an accomplished spy novelist responsible for Henry Cavill's title character. But it turns out that her books have predicted real events, making her a target for an underground crime syndicate (led by Bryan Cranston). Luckily she's got a protector in the form of Sam Rockwell's Aiden.
What we know about Argylle so far tracks pretty well with what we’ve seen here. Although there was a bit of confusion as to what the plot truly entails, as well as just how a novelist’s first book could be turned into a movie so quickly before it’s even published. Which leads us to a bit of an interesting paradox when digging deeper into author Elly Conway’s literary debut.
If you thought the mystery surrounding Argylle was crazy, there’s looks to be a pretty good reason for that. Read over the official synopsis and see if anything sticks out to you:
From the twisted mind of Matthew Vaughn comes Argylle, a razor-witted, reality-bending, globe-encircling spy thriller. Bryce Dallas Howard is Elly Conway, the reclusive author of a series of best-selling espionage novels, whose idea of bliss is a night at home with her computer and her cat, Alfie. But when the plots of Elly’s fictional books—which center on secret agent Argylle and his mission to unravel a global spy syndicate—begin to mirror the covert actions of a real-life spy organization, quiet evenings at home become a thing of the past. Accompanied by Aiden (Sam Rockwell), a cat-allergic spy, Elly (carrying Alfie in her backpack) races across the world to stay one step ahead of the killers as the line between Elly’s fictional world and her real one begins to blur.
So for those of you who have been following this spy adventure since its announcement as an Apple original film, Elly Conway is also the name of the author of the book that Argylle is supposedly based on. Knowing the story of this picture, as well as the fact that Bryce Dallas Howard’s character bears that actual name, it appears that the cat in the bag just might be that Elly doesn’t really exist.
So either Vaughn, writer Jason Fuchs, or an unknown third party is the real author behind the book hitting shelves in our reality next January. That totally explains how this movie was developed so quickly, despite Argylle not being available to the public until February; as well as the branding that states this whole funhouse is “from the twisted mind” of the Kingsman director himself. The cast is full of familiar faces including Catherine O'Hara, John Cena, and Samuel L. Jackson.
The metaness of Matthew Vaughn’s latest James Bond competitor already seems cranked up to 11, and it'll also feature plenty of action that Vaughn's work is known for. It should be interesting to see how the novel story and real-life drama intertwine, with the trailer also hinting at a big reveal for the "real" Argylle. Will it be Cavill in yet another hairdo? Only time will tell.
Thanks to a change in Argylle’s release strategy, we’ll be accepting this mission in theaters on February 2, with its streaming debut to be determined. Rest assured that when the time comes, it’s more than likely you’ll need an Apple TV+ subscription to stream Matthew Vaughn’s latest. As for Elly Conway’s book, you can grab onto that adventurous tome starting February 2nd.
