Will Netflix's 'The Old Guard' Get a Sequel?
The acclaimed Charlize Theron film is based on a classic comic series.
Spoilers for The Old Guard ahead. Recent Netflix release The Old Guard, which stars Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, follows a group of "real-life superheroes"—human beings who are functionally immortal for hundreds, even thousands of years. The group of four, led by Andy (Theron), hide from the world and attempt to enact anonymous justice; their group of mercenaries is then joined by a fifth, Nile (Layne), a former Marine who's just starting to figure out her new abilities. Fans of the original comic are now joined by fans who had never heard of The Old Guard, and pretty much all of them are wondering if a sequel is in the cards.
Honestly, the film is so cool—it's a fun take on the idea of what immortality might actually look like, and why it might not be all it's cracked up to be. It also features two gay "superheroes," Marwan Kenzari as Joe and Luca Marinelli as Nicky, who are proudly in love and have been together for centuries—and reviews of the film have been positive thus far. So, does this mean that we're about to see the start of a franchise?
The Old Guard ended on a major cliffhanger.
Spoilers ahead. At the end of the film, one character (Booker, played by Matthias Schoenaerts) is exiled for 100 years for betraying the rest of the group. He runs into Quynh (Van Veronica Ngo), a lost sixth member who was locked in an iron coffin and tossed in the ocean—drowning, over and over again, for 500 years (oof). She's somehow escaped her watery prison, is dressed in red and drinking a glass of water (!), and looks pissed. It looks like, if there is a sequel, that we may already have our villain.
Meanwhile, the other four mercenaries team up with Copley (Ejiofor) to continue quietly enacting good in the world. There's a ton to cover, is my point.
The creators are definitely interested in a sequel.
No spoilers about the comics here, but the comics do continue past the events of this film—so there's plenty to work with, should there be interest (it'll probably depend on ratings, and we'll have at least a few weeks to wait and see how the film does before Netflix makes a decision). In an interview with Total Film, Theron explained, "We went into this talking about [a sequel] as a possibility...and it's definitely something that excites us."
Creator of the comics and screenplay writer Greg Rucka told SyFy,
"Look, it would be absolutely dishonest to say that we did not include in the movie a 'in case of sequel, break glass' scene. It’s very easy to light that fuse and to move into a second story. However, to me, just personally, this is very important: it’s not contingent...This is not a movie where, when it is over, the audience is left going, 'Oh, great, now I have to wait two years for the next one.' You don’t need another movie to end the story. I am very appreciative of that. So, if the movie is successful, there will be discussions of a sequel, I’m sure. At this point in time, I’m unaware of any discussions going forward or any plans to do so."
So, fans who liked the film should keep watching and tell their friends to do the same, in other words.
WATCH 'THE OLD GUARD' ON NETFLIX
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