Argylle director Matthew Vaughn explains why the movie breaks a major career trend for him. From the director of Kick-Ass and Kingsman, the action comedy follows a reclusive author named Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) who writes a series of best-selling spy novels featuring the fictional Agent Argylle (Henry Cavill) and is plunged into the real world of espionage when her plots begin to mirror an actual spy organization. The all-star Argylle cast also includes Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, Dua Lipa, Ariana DeBose, John Cena, Samuel L. Jackson, and more.
During an appearance on the Inside Total Film podcast (via GamesRadar+) ahead of the Argylle release date, Vaughn explained why the movie breaks a major career trend for him. The director explained why Argylle received a PG-13 rating as opposed to his R-rated Kick-Ass and Kingsman movies. Read his full explanation below:
These are movies that didn’t need to be an R, like Kick-Ass needed to be. The rating should be a reflection of what the film is, not trying to make a movie for a rating. We had to make a few little cuts to get it to PG-13. Two of them annoyed the hell out of me, but, hey, ho. I was like, “Really, that makes it an R?” It sort of made me laugh. I didn’t know this at the time but headshots give you an R, chest shots, don’t. I said, “I don’t understand that because shooting someone in the chest is acceptable, but then the head is really bad?” I don’t think most people care where you’re going to get shot, if you’re gonna get shot, you’re gonna get shot.
Why Argylle Is Rated PG-13
Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle has officially been given a PG-13 rating. Here is an explanation as to why the action film has earned its rating.
The Real Reason Why Argylle Is Rated PG-13
Though Vaughn’s past movies like Kick-Ass and Kingsman were R-rated, hyper-violent action flicks, the director’s intention with Argylle was something completely different. Vaughn’s intention with Argylle was to make a “date movie“ inspired by classic films like Charade, Romancing the Stone, and North by Northwest – all of which were released before the modern MPA rating system, though they would likely receive PG-13 ratings today. Even though Argylle‘s rating aligns with the movie he was trying to make, Vaughn was still “annoyed” by all the cuts that needed to be made for it to receive a PG-13 rating.
Since these cuts don’t entirely reflect Vaughn’s vision, there must be an ulterior motive behind the rating. The director has high hopes for turning Argylle into a franchise with a trilogy, a crossover with Kingsman, and an Argylle prequel series already planned. For Vaughn’s vision to be realized, Argylle‘s box office return needs to justify a sequel, and its PG-13 rating will help it get there by appealing to a wider audience than an R-rated movie. Though Kick-Ass and Kingsman both spawned sequels despite their R ratings, it appears Vaughn wants Argylle to be a more family-friendly franchise.
Argylle
Argylle is an action thriller by director Matthew Vaughn. The movie centers on an introverted novelist who is thrown into the real world of espionage after the plot of her most recent spy thriller parrels the crimes of an underground syndicate. Argylle has a star-studded cast, including Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Dua Lipa, and Samuel L. Jackson, among others.
- Release Date
- February 2, 2024
- Director
- Matthew Vaughn
- Cast
- Henry Cavill , Ariana DeBose , Sofia Boutella , Catherine O’Hara , Bryce Dallas Howard , John Cena , Dua Lipa , Samuel L. Jackson , Sam Rockwell , Bryan Cranston , Rob Delaney
- Runtime
- 135 Minutes
- Writers
- Jason Fuchs
- Studio(s)
- Apple , Cloudy Productions , Marv Studios
- Distributor(s)
- Universal Pictures , Apple
