The Old Guard 2

NOW ON NETFLIX! Based on the graphic novel by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez, The Old Guard 2, a sequel to the 2020 Netflix film directed by Victoria Mahoney and written by Sarah L. Walker and Greg Rucka, sees the return of Charlize Theron’s Andy and her group of immortal mercenaries. Having lost her immortality in the first film, Andy now deals with missions where her life is always at risk, and her newest mission leads to the discovery of another immortal.

In this sequel, the film opens on Quynh (Veronica Ngo) an immortal and centuries old ally of Andy being risen from a watery imprisoned grave by a mysterious person played by Uma Thurman who we later discover is Discord. Meanwhile, Andy and her team have joined forces with Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor). She also is at peace knowing that every fight could be her last. Their most recent mission unveils a CCTV photo of Discord, whom Nile (Kiki Layne) has only seen in her dreams.

The Old Guard 2 (L-R) Henry Golding as Tuah, Luca Marinelli as Nicky, Marwan Kenzari as Joe, Charlize Theron as Andy, and KiKi Layne as Nile in The Old Guard 2. Cr. Eli Joshua Ade/Netflix © 2025

“…Quynh…being risen from a watery imprisoned grave…”

Hearing about the dreams, Andy visits Tuah (Henry Golding), an elderly immortal who records a historic library on the immortals. He explains that Discord is the first of the immortals, and she has stolen one of Tuah’s books that unlocks a secret, possibly the knowledge that Andy has lost her immortality. Tuah eventually figures out that Nile is the last of the immortals and has the power to take away and restore immortality, which he keeps from Andy. Quynh, bitter and angry that she was abandoned by Andy, is on the hunt for her and tracks down Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts) for her whereabouts. He was previously banished from the group for 100 years after his betrayal in the first film. This leads to a reconciliation with him telling Andy that Quynh returned with a message and where to find her.

I had to revisit The Old Guard to because it had been five years. The first film took a little too much time with the setup of the mythology. The Quynh storyline within The Old Guard 2 is exactly what I wanted. Seeing her excavated set the tone, considering it was only touched upon in the first film. This sequel pretty much starts off with action, with a few more memorable sequences making up for what was lacking prior and perhaps that was also in the development notes. I also found that the tone of the film was a bit lighter; there was more playful banter between characters, whereas in the original, it seemed more dark and brooding.

The addition of Discord makes for a great new character, especially as she’s a bad guy. If Netflix is marketing Theron using an axe, then watching Thurman dust off her sword skills from Kill Bill is a treat. She is a bit underutilized as the film is set up for yet another sequel. However, there is a clever plot that forces the characters to use swords rather than guns, which shows off some fun fight choreography. The Old Guard 2 is worth watching. But do you have to watch the first one to understand the sequel? No.