There are no winners in war, but there are plenty who profit from having others fight them. Those shadowy figures are at the evil heart of director Matthew Vaughn’s upcoming Kingsman prequel, The King’s Man. The film’s newest trailer shows how the independent intelligence agency got its start while battling the villains who led the globe into the First World War. And that includes one of the most notorious figures of the 20th century, Rasputin.

But he’s not even their most dangerous foe. That’s the unseen enemy pulling Rasputin’s strings.

In doing so he will help found the world’s first secret independent intelligence agency, the one fans got to know on the big screen with 2014’s Kingsman: The Secret Service and 2017’s Kingsman: The Golden Circle. This prequel takes place decades before those movies, during WWI. It’s when the group of highly skilled gentlemen and gentlewomen first organized into an elite organization.

Although the stars of the franchise’s first two films won’t anchor this film, the movie still boasts an amazing cast. Ralph Fiennes stars as the Duke of Oxford and the man responsible for the group’s creation. Harris Dickinson plays his eager young apprentice. And Rhys Ifans plays the infamous Rasputin.

They’ll be joined by Gemma Arterton, Matthew Goode, Tom Hollander, Daniel Brühl, Djimon Hounsou, and Charles Dance. The movie also stars Stanley Tucci in a still unannounced role. The smart money says he’s the unseen Scottish “shepherd” manipulating the world into chaos. No matter who is behind that bald head and mustache though, he will leave a lasting legacy on the very agency created to stop him.

“Manners maketh man,” he says. But there’s nothing polite about profiteering on the plight of others. A gentleman might do that, but not a Kingsman.

The King’s Man is scheduled to come to theaters on September 18.

(Source: https://nerdist.com/article/the-kings-man-trailer-rasputin-ralph-fiennes/)