Kingsman’s Eggsy vs. Agent Argylle: Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, & Sam Rockwell Pick Sides In Spy Vs. Spy

This interview has been edited for clarity.

A spy organisation, and an individual unaware of any links to said espionage agency until they are visited by a secret agent with an agenda – director Matthew Vaughn might seem like he’s repeating himself with his latest venture, Argylle, but who else can possibly mix things up with his highly successful and renowned Kingsman series, by giving audiences a fresh dynamic to the – dare we say it – tired spy movie genre?

And it’s not wishful thinking on the part of audiences, or of fans of the acclaimed director as his new film, led by Hollywood heavyweights Henry Cavill (Man of Steel), Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World), and Sam Rockwell (See How They Run), openly hints at potential crossovers within the established Kingsman world.

In an exclusive interview with Geek Culture, Cavill, who plays idealised super spy, Agent Argylle, weighs in on who would win in a hypothetical fight between his British Intelligence and Kingsman‘s main protagonist, Gary ‘Eggsy’ Unwin, played by Taron Egerton.

Naturally, there is no way the 40-year-old, who has played the top superhero, a highly regarded beast hunter and the world’s famous master detective would acknowledge otherwise.

“I prefer the green jacket to the orange, so Argylle. Due to the nature he’s idealised in, everything Argylle does is extraordinarily casual,” Cavill noted, hinting at Argylle’s edge over Eggsy. “Eggsy was sort of different as he goes through the growing pains of becoming a spy.”

But there’s a perfectly good and well-intentioned in-universe reason for this, points out co-star Bryce Dallas Howard, who plays introverted spy novellist Elly Conway across Rockwell’s undercover spy, Aiden, and defines the contrast between the fantasy of Argylle and the, well, slightly more grounded reality of a spy like Eggsy. 

“Argylle’s an idealised version of a spy, which means that he’s not completely real. Whereas Eggsy is a real spy, much like Sam’s character Aiden. The collision of the fantasy and the reality is what’s really fun. But at the end of the day, the fantasy is always going to potentially beat the reality.”

Sam Rockwell also humorously advises anyone not to underestimate Cavill, and references a scene from fellow spy film, Mission Impossible: Fallout, where Cavill played the film’s main antagonist, the ruthless CIA assassin August Walker. 

“Eggsy’s fast, wiry, and scrappy. But based on the scenes in Mission Impossible, I would not f*** with this man,” he said, pointing at Cavill.

“I would not f*** with this man.“

The ensemble cast for Argylle also includes Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, Dua Lipa, Ariana DeBose, John Cena, Samuel L. Jackson, and Sofia Boutella as they play supporting roles to Elly Conway, an author whose espionage novels start reflecting real-life spy activities. Alongside the cat-allergic Aiden, the duo embark on a global adventure.

Vaughn’s vision for Argylle extends beyond just a standalone film as he has every intention for this outing to eventually coexist within the larger Kingsman universe, paving the way for potential crossovers with sequels and expansions.

“We have an Argylle 2 planned. So, there is a universe and what we’re trying to do with Marv is sort of Marvel to superheroes, we want to be spies as well. So we’ve got Kingsman on the right, Argylle’s on the left, and then we’ve got an idea for something in the middle as well. Then you’ve got these sort of competing franchises in a galaxy that one day might meet,” Vaughn revealed in the Happy Sad Confused podcast.

The Kingsman franchise has already established a unique niche in the spy genre, with its over-the-top action and humour, setting a high bar for Argylle. While Argylle may be more family-friendly, it seems poised to blend seamlessly with the Kingsman universe, potentially leading to exhilarating narrative intersections and expansions. 

Who knows, the fight between Kingsman’s Eggsy and Agent Argylle may just happen after all.

Argylle opens in theatres on 1 February.