'The King's Man': Franchise returns with action-packed origin story

HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The new origin story "The King's Man" is packed with all sorts of peril, and it takes us back to World War I. Director Matthew Vaughn says this story is really the foundation of what the franchise is about.

It's when the first independent intelligence agency, the Kingsman agency, is formed to preserve peace and protect life.

Vaughn says he got the right cast to make his kind of movie.

"It's always about the chemistry between the actors. And you never know until you start shooting. I don't like boring movies. I don't like boring books. I don't like boring anything. I like to be stimulated. So I do try and put that into the movies," said Vaughn.

Djimon Hounsou and Rhys Ifans offer plenty of that in a big fight scene in the film.

"We were all experiencing the difficulty in putting this, you know, this sort of choreography together. The contribution of the stunt team and the body doubles and all that was absolutely, you know, brilliant," said Hounsou.

Ifans had a blast playing the Russian mystic Rasputin.

"There's something very kind of deeply disturbing about him but strangely attractive. And I think, you know, it's the monster in all of us," said Ifans.

Harris Dickinson, who plays Ralph Fiennes' son, says he rehearsed his fighting more than his lines.

"I started very early with the stunt team and the trainers on this. And I think that they wanted to get me to a point where, when we turn up on set, there was no question of what I was doing or how I was going to do it," said Dickinson.

"This one goes quite deep," said co-star Gemma Arterton. "And I think it's probably one of the most serious films that Matthew Vaughn has made. As you know, great things are at stake and so yeah, we do go there."

"The King's Man" is rated R and is in theaters Dec. 22.

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