Let me start by proclaiming my love-hate relationship with Netflix for playing the ultimate tease with the film The Old Guard. A cinematic work filled with action, mystery, betrayal, and immortality was streamed for us half a decade ago. Finally, the wait has been cut short, as The Old Guard 2 is expected to be released July 2.
So let’s talk about this new trailer and what we can expect from the new film.
A quick recap of the first movie
Thinking back to the first film, you probably have scattered memories of Charlize Theron delivering cutthroat fight scenes. Based on the graphic novel, the movie stars five immortals who have lived through numerous centuries and have fought in countless wars, which makes them the ultimate warriors.
Theron plays Andromache (“Andy”), Marwan Kenzari is Joe/Yusuf Al-Kaysani, Luca Marinelli is Nicolò “Nicky” di Genova, and Matthias Schoenaerts is Booker/Sebastian.
Throughout the thousands of years of their existence, they have loved, lost, and fought to save humanity. While some of them doubt their purpose, the movie reveals that their existence has played small but mighty roles in helping humanity move forward. Hired as mercenaries, the movie reveals them as guardians or unconventional heroes.
The movie also introduces KiKi Layne as Nile Freeman, a new immortal that has come into being — something that hasn’t happened since 1812.
Mixed with top-level fight scenes and backstabbing, both literally and figuratively, the movie explores the darker side of living forever. Yet, the plot twist is that nothing lasts forever. The movie reveals that every immortal will reach a point where their immortality runs out. They may discover this when a battle wound won’t instantly heal or by not waking up after a bullet to the head.
Even though the movie ends on a positive note, the band of immortals coming together to defeat the greedy scientist Merrick, played by Harry Melling, who is trying to harvest their immortality to sell to the highest bidder.
Yet, the after-credit scene reveals that their story continues when the immortal Quynh, played by Ngô Thanh Vân (credited as Van Veronica Ngo), appears after being trapped in a coffin that was sunk to the bottom of the ocean, spending hundreds of years drowning, dying, and then coming back to life to repeat the same fate.
As the new trailer shows, Quynh will be making a big appearance in the second film.
What can we insinuate from the new trailer?
The opening scene shows Nile and Andy talking together, which leads us to believe that Nile has honed her skills and created a bond with Andy.
The next big reveal is the new character. Say Kill Bill three times fast if you’re excited to see Uma Thurman as the villain. All we know about Thurman’s character is that she’s the first of the immortals and seems to be all-knowing of the immortals’ pasts. How’s that for an enemy that can’t die but can name your ex-lovers? But will she be the only villain?
Quynh is seen dressed in red, ironically sipping a glass of water and asking, “Where can I find her?” She is most likely referring to Andy. Other clips show Quynh at a standoff with Andy, and we see the beginnings of what will most likely be a fierce fight scene. Could Quynh and Thurman’s character be working together? How else did she get rescued from the bottom of the ocean?
Besides gun firing and crashing through windows, we see emotions, fear, and maybe even desperation coming through in this second film.
Hopes and expectations for the sequel
The sequel is directed by Victoria Mahoney. Shout out to Black women directors, as only 6% of directors in Hollywood are Black. Her credits include being a second-unit director for The Rise of Skywalker and her debut feature Yelling To The Sky.
Mahoney has mentioned that she is a big fan of the first movie. With her excitement and admiration for the film, I have a feeling she has worked hard to deliver a sequel that will make the fans proud.
For instance, I think we can expect to see Andy with more pride and purpose. How will she move through life knowing that death is following her? Can we expect to see a different more vulnerable side of Andy?
Reunion with Quynh and Andy
While Quynh has more than a lifetime of trauma to work through, being enraged is probably an understatement of how she might be feeling. Will her anger be the death of Andy?
I think we can expect to see some killer fight scenes between the two ex-besties, but maybe some heart-to-heart scenes as well. Is forgiveness easier when you’re immortal, or does living forever make vengeance that much stronger?
I for one am very curious to see how Quynh escaped her deadly prison. Will she be the death of Andy or will she take out her anger on humanity?
New villain
Thurman’s character seems to be the new villain. And although the first movie showed fragments of the immortals’ pasts, maybe we’ll learn how they all came to be.
With the ominous message of “Every step is closer to death” and Andy replying, “Then you’re coming with me,” will one of the immortals die in this movie or something even scarier? To quote Dumbledore, “There are things far worse than death.”
The newest immortal
Although the first movie wasn’t centered around Nile, I can see her playing a bigger or equal role in this film. How has Nile adjusted to life as an immortal? Has she left her family behind? Will she face off with Thurman’s character? We only saw a glimpse of Nile’s potential and abilities, I look forward to seeing her shine.
Nile was already wise to Booker’s betrayal; maybe her intuition will come in handy again. Not to mention, Booker has been exiled, but we’ll most likely be seeing more of him as well. I would like to see some sort of redemption arc for Booker. He was a bit of a tortured soul in the first movie; maybe he’ll finally find peace.
The movie is meant to be a trilogy, which means some questions will be answered in this second film, but more questions may be raised. Will any of the immortals meet their end? I feel we can expect resolutions sprinkled with open-ended scenes that satisfy our interest but keep us wanting more.
