Directed byGina Prince-Bythewoodand penned byGreg Rucka,who wrote the original comic,The Old Guardwas unquestionably one of the best movies to hit Netflix in 2020, providing a pandemic-struck world with some escapist action fun that saw huge Hollywood names likeCharlize Theron,KiKi Layne,Chiwetel Ejiofor, and more take on a tale of immortality and freedom.
A sequel was all but guaranteed, with the announcement coming with the news that director Prince-Bythewood would be replaced byVictoria Mahoney.Add this to a cast that saw the aforementioned Theron, Layne, and Ejiofor all return alongside the likes ofMatthias Schoenaerts,Marwan Kenzari,Henry Golding, andUma Thurman, and the world’s eye was officially caught.
With a threat like nothing they’ve faced before, breathing new life into a deflated and now mortal Andy,The Old Guard 2promises more of the same action and intensity with plenty of poignant character beats. Ahead of the sequel’s release, Collider’sSteve Weintraubsat with Golding, Ejiofor, and Kenzari to discussThe Old Guard 2, including the incredible effort that went into producing both the louder and quieter moments in the film, working with Theron, the movie’s shocking cliffhanger ending, and much more.
Could Theron’s Andy Beat ‘Highlander’s Connor MacLeod in a Fight?
“There can only be one immortal.”
“COLLIDER: I’m a huge fan of Netflix, but I’m also a huge fan of going to see movies in the movie theater. For all three of you, do you have a favorite movie theater?
HENRY GOLDING: See, in the UK, there’s not as many. LA has these historically amazing movie theaters.
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR: Well, in the UK, in London, on Upper Street in North London, there’s a theater, the Screen on the Green, and it’s an Everyman theater, and it’s absolutely beautiful. It’s a great place because it’s still got that kind of very communal spirit, you know. It’s a really great local theater, local cinema.
GOLDING: For me, there was a really tiny theater, I think Everyman might have bought it over or something like that, in Reigate, in the little town that I grew up in, in the UK. I think it was barely Dolby sound, and it was hard benches to watch. But I remember my childhood was spent watching movies in this very simple theater, but it was just so enthralling being in the dark with everybody, with your friends, and just watching the story unfold.
MARWAN KENZARI: I would say two. There’s one in downtown Los Angeles close to Broadway…
EJIOFOR: There’s the theater in Amsterdam?
KENZARI: Yeah, but that was the second one I was going to say. [Laughs]
EJIOFOR: That’s the most amazing theater.
KENZARI: The Tuschinski, that’s the other one. But they’re similar, actually, for the decorative beauty, the elaborate quality of it. So these two theaters, I would say, in downtown LA and one in Amsterdam.
Quentin Tarantino Is Really Worried About Movie Theaters, and You Know What? He Has a Point
“What the f*** is a movie now?”
This is now the most important question I will ask. Who wins a fight between Charlize Theron’s Andy and Connor MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod fromHighlander?
GOLDING: Damn, Steve. Wow.
EJIOFOR:Let me make this easy for everybody. Charlize wins.
GOLDING: It’s Christopher Lambert, though. The legend! [Laughs] But yeah, Charlize.
I told Charlize they should be thinking about crossover movies.
GOLDING: There can be only one immortal.
The Fight Sequences in ‘The Old Guard 2’ Have the “Symbiotic Quality” of a “Dance”
One of the things these two movies have done that’s effective is that they have these big action set pieces, but they also have these small character moments and characters that the audience actually cares about. Can you talk about that balance in these movies? Because the action sequences mean nothing if you don’t care about the people who are fighting.
EJIOFOR: 100%.
GOLDING: Actually, Marwan, I think you have some of the most emotional battle scenes, because there’s this dance between you guys.
KENZARI: The choreography of most of the fights that Nikki and Joe have in both movies are focused on this symbiotic quality of almost like a dance where they could finish each other’s moves and know exactly where the other one is.So it’s almost as if you’re fighting one heart instead of two different characters.We had a lot of fun with the choreography and the stunt team of trying to figure out… Like in the first one, I remember there was this situation where Nikki throws a shotgun or something, and I hold that, and he pulls the trigger. It’s like all of those types of movements that were fun to do.
I want to talk a bit about Charlize for a second. She really puts her shit on the line when she makes these movies. Were you there when she was hanging off the helicopter or doing some of the crazy stuff that she does?
GOLDING: We weren’t on set for the helicopter stuff, but we heard about it, and the amount of preparation. But she would be the first at the stunt studio, choreographing and rehearsing, and probably one of the last to leave. It’s that type of dedication that you see on screen, and you see the ferocity that she achieves. I think I pulled my back the night before one of the bigger sequences, so I’m, like, hobbling around. I was watching some of the clips the other day, andshe is so ferocious and so accurate.But it’s because of that work dedication that she does in pre-production that she’s able to achieve this. She’s so dedicated to it.
I was surprised at how big a cliffhanger this movie ends on. When did you guys hear that it was going to be this kind of cliffhanger? What do you hope to be able to do if you get to make a third one?
EJIOFOR: Obviously, with the disclaimer about the spoilers [laughs], I think it’s just a really exciting film. So, where it ends and how the story potentially continues, I think, is all part of that. It sits within the world and the folklore of these extraordinary characters and this amazing long history that they have.So, I think there’s so many different ways to continue to grow and to engage audiences.
