The end of The Old Guard seemed to make it quite clear who Andromache of Scythia—Andy to her friends—would have to face in the second film. There was, if I can say this without spoiling a five-year-old film, some baggage there. Some history.
But The Old Guard 2 has a second enemy up its sleeve. In one of the most delicious face-offs to come along for a minute, Charlize Theron’s Andy finds herself at odds with Uma Thurman, playing the first immortal—who is quite cranky with Andy for caring about humans, it seems. Here’s Netflix’s synopsis:
Andy (Charlize Theron) and her team of immortal warriors are back, with a renewed sense of purpose in their mission to protect the world. With Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts) still in exile after his betrayal, and Quynh (Veronica Ngô) out for revenge after escaping her underwater prison, Andy grapples with her newfound mortality as a mysterious threat emerges that could jeopardize everything she’s worked towards for thousands of years. Andy, Nile (KiKi Layne), Joe (Marwan Kenzari), Nicky (Luca Marinelli) and James Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) enlist the help of Tuah (Henry Golding), an old friend who may provide the key to unlocking the mystery behind immortal existence. Directed by Victoria Mahoney, and also starring Uma Thurman, The Old Guard 2 is an emotional, adrenaline-pumping sequel, based on the world created by Greg Rucka and illustrator Leandro Fernandez.
The first Old Guard movie was one of the rare good things about 2020, an action film with excellent fight sequences and a lot of heart. The second has a new director (Mahoney replaces Gina Prince-Bythewood, who’s presumably busy with Children of Blood and Bone), but the film is still written by comic co-creator Rucka, this time writing with Sarah L. Walker.
And this trailer looks great! There’s just enough action to get a sense of the fight sequences without giving them all away, just enough sense of villainous motivation, and a brief bit involving fast cars that gave me Fast and/or Furious feels. Yes please.
The Old Guard 2 fights its way onto Netflix on July 2nd.