In the series, Hit-Girl is a young vigilante (later a Kingsman agent) going around the world stopping crime in violent ways, while Kick-Ass has had three people take the mantle, a hero (Dave Lizewski), a sidekick (Paul McQue), and a villain (Patience Lee).

[1] Created by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., the Hit-Girl & Kick-Ass franchise is set in Millar's shared universe, the Millarworld, first established at the conclusion of Book Four of The Dave Lizewski Years, which makes reference to the events of Wanted, Nemesis, Kingsman, Superior, and MPH, with Jupiter's Legacy and Supercrooks existing as fiction within the franchise,[2] leading into the crossover miniseries Big Game, released in 2023 following extensive development hell.

The original series was rebranded as The Dave Lizewski Years following the release of stand-alone sequel series The New Girl and Hit-Girl in 2018,[a] and heavily edited to remove scenes of violence and swearing, and all mention of Dave Lizewski's identity as Kick-Ass being revealed to the world in the third volume, a plot point ignored in the fourth volume.

The series follows Dave (initially a teenager) as he sets out to become a real-life superhero over the course of several years as Kick-Ass, who joins forces with existing vigilante Hit-Girl to take on the New York Mafia, their actions bringing an influx of supervillains and heroes into the world.

[5][6][7] On February 21, 2018, the first issue of a Hit-Girl series from Image Comics was published, with a successive change of writers and artists for each story arc; Frank Quitely, Eduardo Risso, Rafael Albuquerque, Kevin Smith, Daniel Way and Pete Milligan named as the authors involved for each arc, from Season One: Hit-Girl In Colombia, Canada, and Rome, and Season Two: Hollywood, Hong Kong, and India.

Using his love for comics as inspiration, teenager Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) decides to reinvent himself as a superhero—despite a complete lack of special powers.

He joins forces with the father/daughter vigilante team of Big Daddy and Hit Girl, then befriends another fledgling crime-fighter called Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), but a scheming mobster soon puts their alliance to the test.

[13] The rights to a film version of Kick-Ass were sold before the first issue of the comic book of the same name was initially published.

'"[17][18] In April 2010, Aaron Taylor-Johnson (as Aaron Johnson), Chloë Grace Moretz and Christopher Mintz-Plasse were announced to have been respectively cast as Kick-Ass, Hit-Girl and Red Mist, having been cast in 2008; Mintz-Plasse said of the creators of the film that in the lead-up to the film's release they were wondering whether a distributor would pick up the movie.

[19] Filming locations during the principal photography stage of development included Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Dip 'N' Sip Donuts on Kingston Road in Toronto,[20] Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School,[21] and "many Toronto landmarks that play cameos";[20] and various locations in the United Kingdom, including Elstree Studios.

After Mindy is busted and forced to retire as Hit Girl, Dave joins a group of amateur superheroes led by Col. Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey), a reformed mobster.

Just as Dave and company start to make a real difference on the streets, the villain formerly known as Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) rears his head yet again.

[26] Later that month, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Chloë Grace Moretz entered negotiations to reprise their roles as Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl, respectively.

[31] Also that month, Yancy Butler was set to reprise her role as Angie D'Amico,[32] Lyndsy Fonseca stated that she would return as Katie Deauxma in a smaller role,[33][34] Robert Emms was cast as the former police officer turned superhero Insect Man,[35] Morris Chestnut was confirmed to replace Omari Hardwick as Hit-Girl's guardian Marcus Williams,[36] Lindy Booth was confirmed to play Night Bitch, a superhero seeking to avenge the murder of her sister,[37] Andy Nyman was announced to play one of the villains named The Tumor,[38] and Claudia Lee joined the cast as Brooke, the leader of a gang of school bullies.

[39] In September 2012, Jim Carrey was cast in the role of Colonel Stars and Stripes, former gangster, born again Christian, and leader of superhero group Justice Forever.

Once filming in Mississauga wrapped in late September, the cast and crew continued shooting in London, England, at Ashmole Academy.

[52] In the same month, Christopher Mintz-Plasse expressed doubt that a third film would happen, due to the second installment's disappointing box office performance.

[53] In June 2014, Moretz also expressed doubts in a third film, with the actress citing second film's lower box office gross as the key obstacle to the third chapter being produced; while suggesting that file sharing was a factor: "The hard thing is if fans want a third movie, they’ve got to go buy the ticket to go see the movie.

[55] In February 2015, Matthew Vaughn expressed optimism for a Hit-Girl prequel, stating he believed he could also bring back the starring cast.

[1][64] In February 2024, Vaughn revealed that the second film in the trilogy would be titled The Stuntman, and was currently in production, with Damien Walters returning to direct.