| Kick-Ass | |
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| Created by | |
| Original work | The Dave Lizewski Years (2008–2014) |
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| Print publications | |
| Comics | Kick-Ass series
Hit-Girl series
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| Films and television | |
| Film(s) |
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| Games | |
| Video game(s) | |
| Audio | |
| Soundtrack(s) | |
Kick-Ass (also known asHit-Girl & Kick-Ass, or simplyHit-Girl) is amedia franchise based on the adventures of the superheroof the same name and itsspinoff, created byMark Millar andJohn Romita Jr. Set in theMillarworld, it began in 2008 withMarvel'sKick-Ass, followed by theanthologyMillarworld Annual from 2016 to 2017, twostand-alone sequel series,Kick-Ass – The New Girl andHit-Girl, from 2018 to 2020, and twocrossover series,Kick-Ass vs. Hit-Girl andBig Game, in 2020 and 2023. In the series,Hit-Girl is a young vigilante (later aKingsman agent) going around the world stopping crime in violent ways, whileKick-Ass has had three people take the mantle, a hero (Dave Lizewski), a sidekick (Paul McQue), and a villain (Patience Lee).
Kick-Ass, co-written and directed byMatthew Vaughn and also co-written byJane Goldman, was released in March 2010. The film starsAaron Taylor-Johnson andChloë Grace Moretz. A sequel to this film,Kick-Ass 2, written and directed byJeff Wadlow, was released in August 2013. Adaptations of the films have been published, and numerousKick-Ass video games have been released since 2010. In January 2024,Matthew Vaughn revealed that a new trilogy ofKick-Ass films are in the works, and that the first two films, directed byDamien Walters and titledStuntnuts: The Movie andStuntnuts Does School Fight, had secretly been greenlit, cast, and had completed filming.[1]
Created byMark Millar andJohn Romita Jr., theHit-Girl & Kick-Ass franchise is set in Millar'sshared universe, theMillarworld, first established at the conclusion ofBook Four ofThe Dave Lizewski Years, which makes reference to the events ofWanted,Nemesis,Kingsman,Superior, andMPH, withJupiter's Legacy andSupercrooks existing asfiction within the franchise,[2] leading into the crossover miniseriesBig Game, released in 2023 following extensivedevelopment hell.
TheKick-Ass franchise began in 2008 withBook One ofThe Dave Lizewski Years, originally published asKick-Ass. Books Two, Three, and Four, originally respectively published asHit-Girl,Kick-Ass 2 andKick-Ass 3, followed 2010–2014. The original series was rebranded asThe Dave Lizewski Years following the release ofstand-alone sequel seriesThe New Girl andHit-Girl in 2018,[a] and heavily edited to remove scenes of violence and swearing, and all mention ofDave Lizewski's identity as Kick-Ass being revealed to the world in the third volume, a plot pointignored in the fourth volume. The series follows Dave (initially a teenager) as he sets out to become areal-life superhero over the course of several years as Kick-Ass, who joins forces with existing vigilanteHit-Girl to take on theNew York Mafia, their actions bringing an influx ofsupervillains andheroes into the world.
In 2016 and 2019,Mark Millar published theMillarworld Annual, ananthologyannual consisting ofone-shot specials containing winning entries from the online contest for up-and-coming creators held by Millar in 2015 and 2016), whose stories would be published within thecanon of theMillarworld. The 2016 annualMillarworld Annual 2016 would contain the storiesKick-Ass: Blindsided (written by Ricardo Mo, and illustrated by Ifesinachi Orkiekwe) andHit-Girl: Mindy's ABCs (written by Mark Abnett, and illustrated by Ozgur Yildirim),[3] while the 2017 annualMillarworld New Talent Annual 2017 would contain the storyKick-Ass: Trick or Cheat (written by Emma Sayle, and illustrated by Edgy Ziane).[4]
As of February 14, 2018, a newKick-Ass series fromImage Comics, titledKick-Ass – The New Girl, went into publication, featuring an adult female protagonist named Patience Lee, anAfghanistan war veteran and single mother who dons the Kick-Ass costume and mantle to clear her family's financial debts by initially robbing high-profile criminals, eventually becoming acrime boss and taking over the former crime bosses' territories as thesupervillain Kick-Ass.[5][6][7]
On February 21, 2018, the first issue of aHit-Girl series from Image Comics was published, with a successive change of writers and artists for each story arc;Frank Quitely,Eduardo Risso,Rafael Albuquerque,Kevin Smith,Daniel Way andPete Milligan named as the authors involved for each arc, fromSeason One:Hit-Girl In Colombia,Canada, andRome, andSeason Two:Hollywood,Hong Kong, andIndia. The title sees Mindy McCready leaving America to carry on her fight for justice on a worldwide scale, depicting events mentioned in the epilogue of Book Four ofThe Dave Lizewski Years, serving as a sequel to the main events of the series.[8][9]
Kick-Ass vs. Hit-Girl, a five-issue series depicting the first confrontation between Hit-Girl and Patience Lee, went into publication on November 11, 2020, serving as the fourth and final volumes ofKick-Ass – The New Girl and the seventh and final volume ofHit-Girl.[10][11]
An adult Hit-Girl first appears in the sixth issue of theImage Comicscrossover seriesCrossover after being dragged into another reality by "The Event," partaking in an endless battle between residents of theMarvel,DC, andImage Universes (amongst characters from many other properties by Image Comics,Dark Horse Comics,Skybound Entertainment andBoom! Studios, includingThe Wicked + The Divine andI Hate Fairyland), saving Otto and Ellie before jumping into another battle.[12]
In this miniseries, set fifteen years after the events ofThe Dave Lizewski Years, a now-27-year-old Mindy and 31-year-old Dave separately go up against the Fraternity of Super-Criminals led by Wesley Gibson, with Mindy teaming up withGary "Eggsy" Unwin and joining his spy organisation Kingsman, and Dave being granted real superpowers bythe Magic Order and becoming the superhero Codename: America, joining the superhero team The Ambassadors.
| Film | UK release date | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter(s) | Producers | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kick-Ass | 26 March 2010 | April 16, 2010 | Matthew Vaughn | Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn | Matthew Vaughn,Brad Pitt, Kris Thykier,Adam Bohling, Tarquin Pack and David Reid | Released |
| Kick-Ass 2 | 14 August 2013 | August 16, 2013 | Jeff Wadlow | Matthew Vaughn, Adam Bohling, Tarquin Pack and David Reid | ||
| Stuntnuts: The Movie | TBA | TBA | Damien Walters | Matthew Vaughn and Damien Walters | Post-production | |
| Stuntnuts Does School Fight | TBA | TBA | Damien Walters | Matthew Vaughn, Luke Gomes, Joby Stephens and Christopher Tomkins | Completed | |
The first film,Kick-Ass (2010), is set over the course of two years. Using his love for comics as inspiration, teenager Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) decides to reinvent himself as a superhero—despite a complete lack of special powers. Dave dons a costume, dubs himself "Kick-Ass," and gets to work fighting crime. He joins forces with the father/daughter vigilante team of Big Daddy and Hit Girl, then befriends another fledgling crime-fighter called Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), but a scheming mobster soon puts their alliance to the test.[13]
The rights to a film version ofKick-Ass were sold before the first issue of the comic book of the same name was initially published.[14] Developed in parallel byMark Millar andMatthew Vaughn, the film's script, developed by Vaughn andJane Goldman, took a different story direction, to reach many of the same conclusions, described by Millar as a "chick flick", with Goldman doing "construction work" and the "interior designing" and Vaughn serving as the story's "architect".[15][16] Vaughn said that, "We wrote the script and the comic at the same time so it was a very sort of collaborative, organic process. I met [Millar] at the premiere ofStardust. We got on really well. I knew who he was and what he had done but I didn't know him. He pitched me the idea. I said, 'That's great!' He then wrote a synopsis. I went, 'That's great, let's go do it now! You write the comic, I'll write the script.'"[17][18] In April 2010,Aaron Taylor-Johnson (as Aaron Johnson),Chloë Grace Moretz andChristopher Mintz-Plasse were announced to have been respectively cast as Kick-Ass, Hit-Girl and Red Mist, having been cast in 2008; Mintz-Plasse said of the creators of the film that in the lead-up to the film's release they were wondering whether a distributor would pick up the movie. On the set Vaughn jokingly referred toKick-Ass as something that was going to be "the most expensive home movie I ever made". Due to the subsequent popularity of theKick-Ass film, elements of the film were incorporated into the series in Books Two and Three ofThe Dave Lizewski Years, with Marcus Williams, created for the film, introduced as Hit-Girl's step-father, and the relationship between Katie and Lizewski, and Kick-Ass and Red Mist being much calmer, as Millar had aligned the characters with their movie counterparts, explained in-universe as both characters having overhauled their sense of self following separatepilgrimages.[19]
Filming locations during theprincipal photography stage of development includedHamilton, Ontario, Canada; Dip 'N' Sip Donuts onKingston Road inToronto,[20]Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School,[21] and "many Toronto landmarks that play cameos";[20] and various locations in the United Kingdom, includingElstree Studios.[22]
The second film,Kick-Ass 2 (2013) is set over the course of one year. Adapting Books Two and Three ofThe Dave Lizewski Years, the film follows Dave (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), aka Kick-Ass, and Mindy (Chloë Grace Moretz), aka Hit Girl, are trying to live as normal teenagers and briefly form a crime-fighting team. After Mindy is busted and forced to retire as Hit Girl, Dave joins a group of amateur superheroes led by Col. Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey), a reformed mobster. Just as Dave and company start to make a real difference on the streets, the villain formerly known as Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) rears his head yet again.[23]
Near the release ofKick-Ass,Mark Millar andMatthew Vaughn stated that asequel would be possible if the first film was to perform well at the box office, and Vaughn expressed interest in directing the sequel.[24][25] On May 8, 2012, it was reported that asequel would be distributed byUniversal Studios, and thatMatthew Vaughn, at the time occupied with directingKingsman: The Secret Service, had chosenJeff Wadlow, who also wrote the script, to direct the sequel, titledKick-Ass 2.[26] Later that month,Aaron Taylor-Johnson andChloë Grace Moretz entered negotiations to reprise their roles as Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl, respectively.[27] Chad Gomez Creasey andDara Resnik Creasey performed uncredited work on Wadlow's script to make Hit-Girl more feminine and less crass in light of Moretz's older age.[28] In July 2012,Christopher Mintz-Plasse confirmed that he would return as Chris D'Amico who becomes the supervillain The Motherfucker.[29] Mintz-Plasse expressed relief that scenes depictingsexual assault from the comic book would not be included in the film and went on to compare the gang violence in the story to the filmThe Warriors.[29] That same month, it was announced thatJohn Leguizamo would play a character named Javier, one of The Motherfucker's bodyguards.[30] In August 2012, it was reported thatDonald Faison would play the superhero Doctor Gravity.[31] Also that month,Yancy Butler was set to reprise her role as Angie D'Amico,[32]Lyndsy Fonseca stated that she would return as Katie Deauxma in a smaller role,[33][34]Robert Emms was cast as the former police officer turned superhero Insect Man,[35]Morris Chestnut was confirmed to replaceOmari Hardwick as Hit-Girl's guardian Marcus Williams,[36]Lindy Booth was confirmed to play Night Bitch, a superhero seeking to avenge the murder of her sister,[37]Andy Nyman was announced to play one of the villains named The Tumor,[38] andClaudia Lee joined the cast as Brooke, the leader of a gang of school bullies.[39]
In September 2012,Jim Carrey was cast in the role of Colonel Stars and Stripes, former gangster,born again Christian, and leader of superhero group Justice Forever.[40] Also in September,Enzo Cilenti was confirmed to appear in the film.[41] It was confirmed that bodybuilderOlga Kurkulina would portray the villainess Mother Russia.[42] It was revealed thatClark Duke would reprise his role as Marty Eisenberg, who becomes the superhero Battle Guy,[43] and thatAugustus Prew would take over the role of Todd Haynes, who becomes the superhero Ass-Kicker, fromEvan Peters.[44]Principal photography began on September 7, 2012 inMississauga,Ontario, Canada. Once filming in Mississauga wrapped in late September, the cast and crew continued shooting inLondon,England, atAshmole Academy.[45] Filming concluded on November 23, 2012.[46]
In April 2012, whileKick-Ass 2 was still in pre-production, Mark Millar stated that a third film was also planned.[47] In June 2013, however, he revealed that it was not confirmed and would be dependent on how successful the second film was.[48] Later the same month he further elaborated that if it went ahead, the third film would be the final installment: "Kick-Ass 3 is going to be the last one... I told Universal this and they asked me, ‘What does that mean?’ I said, ‘It means that this is where it all ends.’ They said, ‘Do they all die at the end?’ I said, ‘Maybe’ – because this is a realistic superhero story... if someone doesn't have a bullet proof vest like Superman, and doesn't have Batman's millions, then eventually he is going to turn around the wrong corner and get his head kicked in or get shot in the face. So Kick-Ass needs to reflect that. There has to be something dramatic at the end; he cannot do this for the rest of his life."[49] Moretz expressed interested in exploring a darker story for Hit-Girl, stating: "I want to see something we haven't seen yet. Now we've seen who Mindy is, now we've seen who Hit-Girl is, I think we need to meld the characters together and have Mindy become Hit-Girl and Hit-Girl become Mindy. Maybe her natural hair has a streak of purple in it, maybe she really does go kind of crazy and go a bit darker since she lost her father." She also added, "I would only do the third one if it was logical. It needs to be a good script and a director, probably Matthew (Vaughn). The third film needs to fully wrap up the series and has to be a good note to end on."[50]
In August 2013, Millar stated that the film is "in the pipeline".[51] In May 2014, Taylor-Johnson stated he too would be interested in a third film.[52] In the same month, Christopher Mintz-Plasse expressed doubt that a third film would happen, due to the second installment's disappointing box office performance.[53] In June 2014, Moretz also expressed doubts in a third film, with the actress citing second film's lower box office gross as the key obstacle to the third chapter being produced; while suggesting thatfile sharing was a factor: "The hard thing is if fans want a third movie, they’ve got to go buy the ticket to go see the movie. It was like the second most pirated movie of the year, so if you want a movie to be made into a second, a third, a fourth and a fifth, go buy a ticket. Don't pirate it."[54] In August 2014, Moretz reiterated her previous statements and said "sadly, I think I'm done with [Hit-Girl]".[55]
In February 2015, Matthew Vaughn expressed optimism for aHit-Girl prequel, stating he believed he could also bring back the starring cast.[56][57] In June of the same year, Vaughn stated that he is working on the Hit-Girl film, with plans to makeKick-Ass 3 afterwards.[58] In June 2018, the filmmaker confirmed the film to still be in development, in addition expressing interest in a sequel film with Chloë Grace Moretz reprising her role.[59]
In January 2018, Mark Millar said that he'd like to seeTessa Thompson portray the Patience Lee incarnation of the character in a prospective thirdKick-Ass film; while Thompson stated that she was "highly interested" in the role.[60][61] In June 2018, Matthew Vaughn announced his new film production companyMarv Studios, under which banner he will produceKick-Ass 3, followed by areboot of theHit-Girl & Kick-Ass series.[59]
In December 2021, Vaughn revealed he intended to develop a reboot once the rights reverted to him in two years.[62] By October 2023, the filmmaker stated that the reboot would include new characters while he also intends to include stars of the first two movies in a later installment as well.[63]
In January 2024, Vaughn revealed that a third installment which is intended to be the first of a new trilogy had already completed filming. TitledSchool Fight and directed byDamien Walters.[1] The filmmaker later noted that the trilogy of new films share continuity, and that it is his intention of taking other creative roles and allowing his second-unit team to take on a more prominent role in filmmaking.[64]
In January 2024, Matthew Vaughn announced that the second film in his upcoming trilogy would be developed under the working-title ofVram.[1][64] In February 2024, Vaughn revealed that the second film in the trilogy would be titledThe Stuntman, and was currently in production, with Damien Walters returning to direct.Principal photography began in October 2023 inHampshire. The film was aiming to be released at the2024 Toronto International Film Festival or at the2025 Sundance Film Festival.[65][66][67]
In January 2024, upon revealing the existence of an upcoming trilogy of newKick-Ass films and the secretly-filmed third installment titledSchool Fight, Matthew Vaughn also announced that the next projects would be developed under the working-titles ofVram, and another also tentatively entitledKick-Ass.[1] Vaughn stated in February of the same year, that though he has been involved with the filmmaking process of the trilogy, he has intended to allow his second-unit team to serve as the primary filmmakers. Confirming thatVram is near completion, he stated that once principal photography has wrapped,School Fight will be released.[64]
A third feature,Stuntnuts Does Shiver, described as Jaws meets Groundhog Day, was being announced by Vaughn in September 2024. Vaughn also confirmed a fourth film with all four to be directed byDamien Walters.[68]
List indicators
- This table shows the recurring characters and the actors who have portrayed them throughout the franchise.
- A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's presence in the film has not yet been announced.
- AD indicates an appearance in (a) scene(s) not included in the theatrical version of the film.
- AY indicates an appearance as a younger version of a pre-existing character.
- AC indicates acameo appearance.
- AV indicates a voice-only role.
- AnA indicates an appearance through archival footage or audio.
| Characters | Released films | |
|---|---|---|
| Kick-Ass | Kick-Ass 2 | |
| 2010 | 2013 | |
| Dave Lizewski Kick-Ass | Aaron Taylor-Johnson | |
| Mindy Macready Hit-Girl[b] | Chloë Grace Moretz | |
| Christopher "Chris" D'Amico Red Mist The Motherfucker[c] | Christopher Mintz-Plasse | |
| Marty Battle Guy | Clark Duke | |
| Angie D'Amico | Yancy Butler | |
| Mr. Lizewski | Garrett M. Brown | |
| Katie Deauxma | Lyndsy Fonseca | |
| Erika Cho | Sophie Wu | |
| Tony Romita | John Romita Jr.C | |
| Sergeant Marcus Williams | Omari Hardwick | Morris Chestnut |
| Todd Haynes Ass-Kicker | Evan Peters | Augustus Prew |
| Scottish Drunk | Mark MillarDC | Mark MillarC |
| Damon Macready Big Daddy[d] | Nicolas Cage | Mentioned |
| Frank D'Amico[e] | Mark Strong | |
| Big Joe | Michael Rispoli | |
| Detective Gigante | Xander Berkeley | |
| Ralph D'Amico | Mentioned | Iain Glen |
| Sal Bertolinni Colonel Stars and Stripes | Jim Carrey | |
| Samuel Keers Doctor Gravity | Donald Faison | |
| Occupation | Film | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kick-Ass (2010) | Kick-Ass 2 | Stuntnuts: The Movie | Stuntnuts Does School Fight | Kick-Ass (upcoming) | |
| Director of photography | Ben Davis | Tim Maurice Jones | Ben Davis | Nathan Claridge | TBA |
| Editor(s) | Jon Harris Pietro Scalia Eddie Hamilton | Eddie Hamilton | TBA |
| TBA |
| Composer(s) |
| TBA | Steve Davis | TBA | |
| Title | U.S. release date | Length | Composer(s) | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kick-Ass – Original Motion Picture Score[69] | March 29, 2010 (2010-03-29) | 51:19 | Mika and Jodi Marr | Polydor Ltd. Interscope |
| Kick-Ass 2 – Original Motion Picture Score[70] | August 12, 2013 (2013-08-12) | 41:36 | Sony Music Classical Sony Masterworks |
| Film | Release date | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Production budget | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Outside United States | North America | Other territories | Worldwide | All time North America | All time worldwide | |||
| Kick-Ass | April 16, 2010 (2010-04-16) | March 26, 2010 (2010-03-26) | $48,071,303 | $48,117,600 | $96,188,903 | 1,783 | 1,008 | $28–30 million | [71] |
| Kick-Ass 2 | August 16, 2013 (2013-08-16) | August 14, 2013 (2013-08-14) | $28,795,985 | $32,000,000 | $60,795,985 | 2,805 | 1,612 | $28 million | [72] |
| Total | $76,867,288 | $80,117,600 | $156,984,888 | $56–58 million | [72] | ||||
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kick-Ass | 76% (257 reviews)[73] | 66 (38 reviews)[13] | B[74] |
| Kick-Ass 2 | 32% (205 reviews)[75] | 41 (35 reviews)[76] | B+[74] |
In April 2010, it was confirmed thatKick-Ass would have a tie-in game to accompany its release, and that it would be abeat 'em up combatvideo game, released oniOS andPlayStation Network (PSN) developed and published byFrozen Codebase (published by WHA Entertainment for the PSN version).[77] The iOS version of the game was released on April 17, 2010, but had since been pulled from the Apple App Market. The PlayStation Network version of the game was released on April 29, 2010 in North America and May 5, 2010 in Europe.[78] On August 14, 2014, Freedom Factory Studios released abeat 'em up sequel,Kick-Ass 2: The Game, based on the movieKick-Ass 2.[79][80]
Funko released Pop! Wacky Wobblerbobblehead figures of Kick-Ass, Hit-Girl and Red Mist in 2011.[81]
Faison will play Dr. Gravity, a copy writer by day who dresses up as a superhero by night and wants to start a start a hero group called Justice Forver.
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