So much Comic-Con news to go through! In this post, Josh discusses the Kick-Ass 2 panel, which took place on Friday, July 19 in Hall H at 12:15pm. This film looks like a lot of fun, and while a short panel (since it only gets the first half of a one hour Universal Pictures showcase), we get a new trailer for the film, and to hear from the main actors of the film, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and even Chloe Grace Moretz via satellite feed from Boston. Lets get into it!
After the Veronica Mars panel, which we honestly did not enjoy too much, since Violet and I are not fans of the show, it was awesome to get back into “excitement” mode with the next panel, which was Kick-Ass 2.
To read the Veronica Mars Panel, check it out here.
For those unfamiliar with the Kick Ass franchise, the first Kick-Ass movie revolved around a teenager looking to be a hero, and takes a very gritty, more realistic approach to becoming one. On his journey he meets “Hit Girl” and “Big Daddy”, who help him on his journey to greatness. Kick-Ass 2 continues this storyline, a few years after the events of the original.
The moderator for this panel is Drew McWeeny. He is brought out, and the excitement begins! McWeeny brings out the director of the film, Jeff Wadlow, and the creators of the comic series Kick-Ass, Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr.
The moderator begins with asking Jeff Waldow about getting the job as director, following up Matthew Vaughn’s directing of the first. The moderator moves to the writers, asking their thoughts on the film, which of course they praise, insisting this movie was, “supposed to happen”. They also say that Matthew has “had a hand in” the making of the film.
McWeeny then shows a short movie clip, and introduces Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who is noticeably buffer than the first film. The moderator indicates that the characters have changed quite a bit since the first movie, and Aaron acknowledges that, “a lot has changed visually”, but says that “his character hasn’t changed at all since the first one”, which was a bit odd to say. Perhaps he means that there is no change at the beginning? Regardless, he discusses “cracking up” at the script, and enjoys the complexity of the script for the movie.
Christopher Mintz-Plasse has a quick video introduction, showing a clip of his character, and he comes out to the panel. The moderator discusses his character, and what he had to do in the film had to be “100%”. He reveals he is wearing a gimp outfit that was found in his character’s mother’s closet. Christopher says that he is glad he didn’t have to do some of the things in the comic which were, “murdering a dog, and raping somebody”. Wise choice I think, as particularly the latter would not fit in with the context of the feel of the film.
Interestingly brought up is that none of the characters were under contract to return to these roles, so they willingly came back to the movie, which hopefully is an indication that the movie was worthwhile for them to do.
The moderator then brings out some more actors in the film: Lindy Booth who plays “Night Bitch”, Donald Faison as “Doctor Gravity”, and John Leguizamo, who plays Javier, one of Chris’s bodyguards. We then are shown some exclusive footage, which provides some scenes of the film. Unfortunately, the moderator breaks the Hall H audience’s heart next, however, announcing that Chloe Grace Moretz will not be at the panel. We are given a quick Hit Girl video, and happily, she is able to make a live virtual appearance through video, from Boston. The moderator asks her about Hit Girl dealing with high school as a bigger challenge than being a hero. Chloe indicates that Hit Girl retires in the film, and moves on to high school. She says that her character has to realize that, “Mindy Macready and Hit Girl are the same person, and not two different people”. McWeeny then asks about working with Kick-Ass now that Big Daddy has passed away. She discusses the two characters’ dynamic, and their bond since they both know each other’s secret identity. She also says that Big Daddy’s “presence is still very strong”, and felt throughout the film. McWeeny then asks Chloe why she feels drawn to the character. She discusses the little girl inside of Hit Girl, and how she feels “Lost”, “not knowing who she is”, while trying to provide justice as Hit Girl.
After the footage, Jeff Wadlow discusses finding “Mother Russia”, one of the villains of the movie, and he reveals that finding her was a very extensive online search, and that, since she didn’t know English, communication was done by actions. McWeeny then talks to Chris about the fight scenes in the movie, and asks about preparing for the physical-ness of the film. Chris reveals he was also working on a TV show, so he was traveling back and forth between the show and Kick-Ass to do the shoots. Aaron jumps in discussing working with the trainers and getting the choreography down.
Moving to John Leguizamo, the moderator asks how it was being the “heart” of the villains, given how dark “The Motherfucker” is. He jokes about having his role described to him, which was him, “being himself”, which he says, “that’s no fun”, but says “it was a lot of fun”, especially working with Chris.
The moderator asks Jeff about coming back for the third film. He seems to dodge the question, saying “I love these characters, and I have been so focused on these characters, I haven’t thought about it”. I have a feeling this decision is going to come down to how well the film does critically, financially, and how much more money Wadlow can make on the next one.
The panel wraps up, discussing some final thoughts on the film by the actors, complimenting each other’s work on the film. Unfortunately, there was no Q& A for this panel. I have a feeling this was due to the Jim Carrey debacle, as that would have probably been the first question out of everyone’s mouth, since he has now renounced his role in the film. Regardless, this film looks like a lot of fun. Below is a trailer for the film, if you haven’t seen much on it yet.
