The next Kingsman film will have a whole new cast, with Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel) taking the lead, and there's a good reason for it.

No, not because the characters have been killed off. And no, it's not gone all The Crown, replacing its entire cast with new actors as the characters age. It will in fact go back in time, before the current cast were even born: 100 years to be exact, to WW

The prequel will be called Kingsman: The Great Game, and Collider reports the film will explore the origins of the secret Kingsman service, with Ralph, Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), Daniel Brühl (The Alieniest) Rhys Ifans and Matthew Goode (A Discovery of Witches) all in the frame to star.

Though most of their roles have so far been kept under wraps, Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill) is reportedly in talks to play a "dangerous and manipulative Russian mystic," who sounds a lot like a certain Grigori Rasputin, of "Ra Ra Rasputin" fame, whose power was at its height during the First World War.

Harris Dickinson (Trust) will also star as a "cocky yet charming" young chap who wants to fight in the war, and finds a mentor in Ralph's character.

That pairing sounds a lot like the Harry/Eggsy double act that's been at the heart of the first two Kingsman movies. In those, Colin Firth played Harry, an older, snappily dressed veteran of the private intelligence service, while Taron Egerton was Eggsy, a new recruit. Neither Colin nor Taron will feature in the new installment.

Just how Kingsman: The Great Game will set up the first two is intriguing to say the least, though we have to wait a year before we find out. It starts filming in January, ready for release on November 8 next year.

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