One recent trend in Hollywood is beginning to piss off a lot of directors, trailers revealing really big twists in films. Directors may be in the drivers seat when creating the film, but when it comes to marketing, they have little to no say.With Suicide Squad, you saw how a trailers’ reception by audiences actually dictated drastic changes to the tone and direction of the final film.
You can add Matthew Vaughn to the list of directors who are opposed to allowing trailers to dictate the film. In the case of Kingsman 2, the trailers and marketing material gave away a huge plot point and spoiler. Vaughn isn’t too thrilled about the move. Colin Firth’s death in the first film was a big shock to audiences, and his return would have been equally as shocking. Unfortunately, from the very beginning, the trailers showed Firth very much alive and ruined any chance of surprise from audiences.
In a recent interview with IGN, Vaughn said that the big reveal was “stupidity”. It was a move that proved that no one in the marketing department watched the first film. Firth’s character, Harry Hart, was shot in the face in the first film. Why would you show him in the trailers? Audiences already assumed he was dead. It is a moment that drives the entire first act of the film, and now it has less of an effect. Vaughn wishes that the studio would have kept Firth out of the promotional material:
I begged the studio not to reveal it. Because it’s the whole driving force of the first act and if you didn’t know that scene it would’ve made the whole audience gasp. So you have to ask the lovely marketing guys because I think their job is to open the movie and don’t really care about the experience of the movie.
Vaughn goes on to say that in the future he will be more involved with the marketing in the future.
Kingsman 2: The Golden Circle is currently in theaters.
[IGN via ScreenCrush]
