RUMOR: Taylor Swift, Elton John And David Beckham To Cameo In Matthew Vaughn's THE SECRET SERVICE?

British tabloid TheMirror is putting out the rumor that singer Taylor Swift will have a cameo in Matthew Vaughn's The Secret Service. The action comedy would see Swift kidnapped by the villain played Sam Jackson, with her escaping and kicking ass. The comic alludes to famous people getting kidnapped, hence the appearance of Mark Hamill playing himself. So it's possible she'll be playing herself but with a martial arts background. Swift isn't the only celebrity being asked to make a cameo in The Secret Service. Legendary singer Elton John and footballer David Beckham have also been approached to appear in the film according to the tabloid.

Samuel L Jackson Will Play The Villain Of THE SECRET SERVICE, Emma Watson And Bella Heathcote Circling Female Lead

Variety reports that Samuel L. Jackson will play the villain of The Secret Service. A role which was offered to both Tom Cruise and Leonardo DiCaprio previously. The site mentions that Emma Watson (Harry Potter, Bling Ring) and Bella Heathcote (Dark Shadows, Killing Them Softly) are up for the female lead alongside Taron Egerton, Colin Firth and Michael Caine.

Matthew Vaughn Eyeing Jack O'Connell For Lead Role Alongside Colin Firth In THE SECRET SERVICE

TheWrap reports that writer/director Matthew Vaughn is keen on trying to get actor Jack O'Connell (300: Rise of An Empire) for the main role in The Secret Service. The film is based on the Mark Millar comic which would be a violent mix of My Fair Lady meets James Bond. As a veteran spy trains a young street smart teen to become a spy himself. Colin Firth is already set to play the mentor of the film and Jack is wanted for the hoodie role. Two other names in the mix also include John Boyega (Attack The Block) and Christian Cooke (Cemetery Junction).

Matthew Vaughn's THE SECRET SERVICE Coming November 2014

Deadline reports that Fox has won a battle with Universal for the rights to distribute Matthew Vaughn's (Kick-Ass, Layer) next comic book film The Secret Service. The comic from Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons (Watchmen) focuses on a veteran secret agent who leads a young street hooligan protege into the shadowy business.Vaughn and writing partner Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass, X-Men First Class) have taken on the film's script.No word on casting besides the iconic Mark Hamill filming a cameo.

UPDATE: Fox has set the release date for November 14th 2014 and will begin production this August.

Matthew Vaughn Will Produce Josh Trank's FANTASTIC FOUR Reboot

Mark Millar has tweeted confirmation that Fox has landed Matthew Vaughn as a producer for Josh Trank's (Chronicle) Fantastic Four reboot. It's the first real update on the project in a very longtime since the hiring of screenwriter Jeremy Slater. This could mean that Vaughn will be apart of the casting process, helping to wrangle major talent to the reboot. The film has a set release date of March 6th 2015. While nothing is confirmed it's expected that Fantastic Four could be the next film to go into production after X-Men Days of Future Past is done shooting.

There had been some questions about Vaughn's relationship with Fox when he exited X-Men Days of Future Past to focus on The Secret Service. Matthew had also pitched his vision for Star Wars Episode VII to LucasFilm before J.J. Abrams ultimately landed the gig. Kick-Ass 2 which is another project Matthew has produced will be released later this year.

Matthew Vaughn Exits X-MEN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST, Will Make SECRET SERVICE Instead?

A bombshell for X-Men fans has been reported by Deadline as director Matthew Vaughn is leaving X-Men: Days of Future Past. He had been very vocal on making a sequel to the point he signed on along with developing the story/script with writing partner Jane Goldman. The relationship with Fox seems still intact as Matthew will stay on as producer of the film. Vaughn is actually looking to direct The Secret Service for Fox instead. A film concept originally hatched by both Mark Millar and Matthew that came out as a comic book series.

His replacement just might end up being Bryan Singer. However, I really hope Singer doesn't direct considering how terrible his post-X2 films have been. There has even been talk of how much of a disaster Jack The Giant Slayer (not killer) might be. It wouldn't be hard to imagine Fox might look to hire someone new to direct. Considering Singer still has to promote/edit Jack The Giant Slayer. The problem stems from setting the release date of this massive film before post-production, which to be fair would scare any director. I'd love to see someone like Drew Goddard (Cabin In The Woods, Cloverfield) get the gig but you never know with Fox.

CAST EM': The Secret Service

One of the more intriguing comic book films on it's way is Mark Millar's The Secret Service. The premise of the film is what happens when a young wayward hoodie from North London is trained to become a government spy (not unlike James Bond). Mixing elements from Bond, UNCLE and SHIELD along with the sensibilities of Millar and graphic eye of legendary artist Dave Gibbons (Watchmen). The first issue of the comic is released this month but the names of the characters/villain haven't been revealed. Once the issues start rolling out I'll update this page accordingly.

From what I know there seems to be an older spy character that is either the partner or mentor of the young hoodie. That role seems perfect for Richard Armitage since he's already starred in spy projects like Spooks, Strike Back and Captain America: The First Avenger. Richard also has that strong leadership quality that will be seen in the Hobbit films as Thorin Oakenshield. Not to mention he has a Bond ora to him and physical presence most actors are lacking. There has been talk of a realistic edge to the film and with his background in fighting and weapons it's going to be a major asset.

A notorious theme with Millar and Vaughn is that they love to use up and coming actors for lead roles. We've seen this with Daniel Craig/Tom Hardy in Layer Cake, Charlie Cox in Stardust, James McAvoy in Wanted, Aaron Johnson in Kick-Ass and Nicholas Hoult in X-Men First Class. A new actor that I just noticed is Tom Payne and he would be perfect for the hoodie turned spy. Payne has a major role in HBO's Luck as the cocky jockey. I wouldn't count out Charlie Cox who is the same age as Payne and previously worked with Vaughn on Stardust. Charlie has a rather physical role on HBO's Boardwalk Empire as a bodyguard/hitman and a former soldier in the Irish Republican Army. He's another actor I picture for the role.

When it comes to the film's villain I'm sort of in the dark because I don't know anything about the character. I'll just have to throw out names like Sean Bean (Patriot Games, Ronin, Goldeneye)  and Peter Mullan ( Red Riding Trilogy, Children of Men, Welcome To The Punch, War Horse, Tyrannosaur) until we know more about the series.

Mark Hamill Will Have A Role In Secret Service

Mark Millar has a long honoured history of running his mouth when it comes to his film projects. We've heard more than our fair share of untrue talk about Kick-Ass 2. There is now word from Millar picked up by ComicBookResources (via CBM) that the development on The Secret Service is moving along quite nicely. Stating that Matthew Vaughn is currently writing the film's script. It was revealed a few months back that the Vaughn and writing partner Jane Goldman were working on the film. Described as Millar/Vaughn/Dave Gibbons' (Watchmen) version of S.H.I.E.L.D. or The Man From U.N.C.L.E. that follows a London hoodie that is trained to become a James Bond type of spy.

Another interesting tidbit was laid out by Millar stating that Mark Hamill will have pivotal role in the film. The iconic actor is best known for playing Luke Skywalker and as the voice of the Joker for  almost two decades. His role is unknown but he could be playing a villain or even himself. Millar also confirmed the two lead actors of the project would indeed be British. A director hasn't been named but since Vaughn has signed on for a sequel to X-Men First Class he might pass on the directing side of things.

Universal In Talks To Make Mark Millar's War Heroes

HeatVision reports that Universal Pictures is in negotiations to develop Mark Millar's War Heroes into a film. Previously the project had been with Columbia Pictures but the rights lapsed. The studio is in talks with screenwriters Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer who wrote Conan The Barbarian (2011) and recently handed in a script for Doctor Strange to Marvel Studios. The premises is an alternate America where soldiers are given pills to unlock various superpowers to fight the country's enemies.

This is yet another boost for comic writer/creator Mark Millar who is starting to become the next Stan Lee in the world of comic book films. War Heroes will be his 7th comic book turned into a film. Two movies have already been completed [Kick-Ass, Wanted] and six others in development [Wanted 2, Kick-Ass 2, Nemesis, Superior, The Secret Service, Supercrooks]. It will be interesting to see who they'll get to direct the film.

I wouldn't be shocked to see Justin Lin in contention considering Fast Five/Fast Six writer Chris Morgan is producing. Lin has been rumored/attached previously to Terminator 5, Highlander, Oldboy, The Wolverine and Die Hard 5. Robert Schwentke (RED) also seems like a possbility since he walked away from directing RED 2 and is currently helming another high concept comic book adaptation R.I.P.D. (his second comic book film) for the studio.

Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn Writing Script For The Secret Service

HeatVision reports that Matthew Vaughn is indeed developing Mark Millar/Dave Gibbon's future comic release The Secret Service into a film. They also mention that Vaughn along with longtime writing partner Jane Goldman (Woman In Black, The Debt) will be working on the film's script. However, they do say that Vaughn is only supervising the scripwriting on Superior. Goldman and Vaughn have previously worked together on Stardust, Kick-Ass and X-Men First Class. Knowing they'll be writing together again on this project makes me believe that Secret Service could be Vaughn's next film. There has also been talk of Matthew developing Jonathan Ross' comics Golden Age and Turf into films as well, Ross of course is Jane's husband.