The King's Man: new trailer and poster for the Kingsman prequel movie

You know the phrase 'if looks could kill'? It definitely applies to the sartorially elegant espionage agents taking centre stage in The King's Man. The all-action comic book movie acts as a prequel to the earlier Kingsman blockbusters, which showed us how an independent spy ring operated behind the scenes of a Savile Row tailor's shop.

However, stars Colin Firth and Taron Egerton are nowhere to be found. This movie being set several decades earlier, Ralph Fiennes steps up as the Duke of Oxford, a veteran Kingsman agent who is in the process of schooling new protege Conrad (Harris Dickinson) with the help of Shola (Djimon Hounsou). The movie acts as an origin story for the titular spy agency, detailing the various daredevil Kingsman exploits that have occurred throughout the generations.

Matthew Vaughn is back behind the camera, having already directed the two Kingsman films that were, themselves, adapted from Mark Millar's graphic novel series. Millar's imprimatur is very much evident in the new trailer for The King's Man, which unleashes a host of enjoyably bloody and sweary chaos as both Oxford and Conrad seek to save the world.

The threat this time comes from Rhys Ifans' hairy and sinister Rasputin, who is collaborating with a host of notorious, real-life historical figures to make life difficult for the Kingsman agency. The supporting cast includes Gemma Arterton, Charles Dances, Matthew Goode, Tom Hollander and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. 

The King's Man is scheduled for release on 22nd December.