‘The Old Guard 2’: Everything We Know About A Possible Netflix Sequel

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Old Guard on Netflix.

So you’ve just finished The Old Guard on Netflix, and you’re ruminating on that cliffhanger ending. You’re probably thinking, “You can’t just end the movie like that and not give me the sequel to The Old Guard!” I’m right there with you, friend. I need confirmation that Charlize Theron had a girlfriend for a few thousand years!

If you’re the kind of person who Googles “The Old Guard 2” without watching the movie first, all you need to know is that The Old Guard is a new Netflix action movie based on a comic book, starring Charlize Theron as the leader of a group of immortal warriors. The ending—like almost every single superhero action movie hoping to hit the franchise jackpot—obviously sets up an Old Guard sequel. In this case, that’s done by teasing the return of Quynh (Van Veronica Ngo), aka the probably-ex-girlfriend of Charlize’s Theron’s character who is also probably evil now. You can read all about it in Decider’s breakdown of The Old Guard ending.

So what’s the deal with The Old Guard 2? Here’s what we know so far.

WILL THERE BE A SEQUEL TO OLD GUARD?

Update, August 26, 2021: Great news, gang! Today the Netflix Film Twitter account officially announced The Old Guard sequel was a go. The tweet read: “It’s official: THE OLD GUARD is reuniting for a sequel that will be directed by Victoria Mahoney!”

Gina Prince-Bythewood will not be returning as the director, and instead Victoria Mahoney (Yelling To the Sky) will take on the role. Mahoney said in a statement with the Netflix announcement, “[I] cannot communicate the true measure of my excitement-being invited on The Old Guard journey, alongside ferocious badasses.” Mahoney also served as a second-unit director on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Old Guard screenwriter Greg Rucka, who also created the comic the film is based on with Leandro Fernández, will return as the sequel’s screenwriter.  Rucka has previously said he has the story planned as a trilogy. The first Old Guard movie covers the first five-issue arc of The Old Guard: Opening Fire graphic novel, which was released as a collection in August 2017. The second book, The Old Guard: Force Multiplied, released the first issue in December 2019, picking up where that story left off. In an interview with Looper.com, Rucka said that he would be more than willing to pen the screenplay for the second (and third) movie.

“There is a complete three-part story that can be told and, God willing if it’s a success, Netflix comes back and says, ‘Hey, let’s do it again,’” Rucka said. “There’s more to tell, and there are questions that we want to answer. But right now, I gotta tell you this: If this is all we get, I am going to be a very happy guy.”

Theron, who is also a producer on the film, is also on board for the hypothetical sequel. “The character of Quynh is going to be a really interesting character to explore in the sequel, if we get to make it,” Theron said in an interview with The Chicago Tribune. “As producers, this wasn’t a mistake. We’re like, ‘OK, how do we set this up in a way that would be intriguing for people and entice them to want to come and join maybe another volume?’ And I think having a brand new character set it up in the way that we did it is an interesting one.”

Previously, director Gina Prince-Bythewood had said she was less sure whether she would return to direct a sequel. In an interview with Collider, she said, “I would really have to think about that. It’s been two years, and just coming out of it now, I’m eager for a rest. I would probably feel two ways about it. If it continues on, I was the first that established it, but it would probably also bug me and I’d be like, ‘Nile doesn’t do that!’ So, I just don’t know.”

We did it, Joe!

WHERE CAN I READ THE OLD GUARD COMICS?

If you want to read ahead in the story, great news: The fifth and final issue of The Old Guard: Force Multiplied comes out this Wednesday, July 15, so you already have five whole issues of stories to find out what happens next. Rucka has said he and artist Leandro Fernández are beginning to work on the third and final story now (titled The Old Guard: Fade Away), and expect to release that around summer 2021.

Of course, like most movies adapted from comic books, there were some significant changes made to the plot. Your best bet is to start at the beginning, with The Old Guard: Opening Fire graphic novel, which was issued as a collection and can be purchased via Image Comics, your local comics store, or wherever you prefer to buy comics. Just be sure to tag your spoilers, please and thanks.

Watch The Old Guard on Netflix