Ralph Fiennes gathers the ‘civilized’ renegades in explosive new trailer for The King’s Man

War pigs won’t stop the rise of the civilized, if the Duke of Oxford has anything to say about it — and in the brand-new trailer that 20th Century Fox just released for The King’s Man, Ralph Fiennes is saying plenty. 

Fiennes’ mellifluous voice floats above an explosive showcase of what the upcoming Kinsgman prequel movie has in store, and it’s a righteous mix of skull-and-bones secrecy, nefarious WWI-era plots behind the scenes, and the sort of understated British humor that Fiennes and costars like Djimon Hounsou (Shola) and Gemma Arterton (Polly) know how to sell with nothing more than a glance. 

Check out the clip below for a peek at what the success of the previous films — and the big budget that comes with it — appears to have done for writer and director Matthew Vaughn’s secret-society juggernaut (and stay ’til the end for Hounsou’s hilariously incredulous look when he discovers what these newfangled “parachutes” are actually used for.) 

Ozzy Osbourne kicks in with an updated belting of Black Sabbath’s "War Pigs" right as the fast-twitch action takes off, and we get fresh glances at Rhys Ifans’ mysterious, Rasputin-like baddie doing deliciously heinous things before being treated to a barrage of eye candy; a spectacle that somehow feels far more epic than a simple origin story about a ragtag team of soft-hearted malcontents has any right to feel.

Even though they came together not as a noble group of heroes, but a gaggle of thieves and toughs, the first recruits get their new purpose from Fiennes in distilled form: “While governments wait for orders, our people take action,” he says, later narrating a hook that perfectly describes what sets the good guys apart in a power-mad world that’s coming apart at the seams: “Our enemies think we are gentle men. But reputation is what people think of you; character is what you are.”

In a movie that’s shaping up to be crammed with memorable characters, we’ll take that to heart while we wait for The King's Man's release. Starring Fiennes, Hounsou, Arterton, and Ivans, alongside Matthew Goode, Tom Hollander, Harris Dickinson, Daniel Brühl, and Charles Dance, The King’s Man sneaks into theaters (with a bang) on Feb. 14 of next year.