It’s the battle of a lifetime — or hundreds of lifetimes. The sequel to 2020’s hit fantasy-action epic The Old Guard matches two titans of cinematic combat against each other. In The Old Guard 2, streaming now on Netflix, Andy (Charlize Theron) tracks down a mysterious new foe who calls herself Discord. That’s exactly what the character, played by Uma Thurman (Kill Bill), brings to Andy and her crew of international warriors.
“Discord is shrouded in mystery throughout the movie,” Thurman tells Tudum. “As one of the oldest immortals, she’s been alone the longest and has come back with a lot of angst and frustration in her motivation — not a great fan of humanity, very unlike the movie’s hero, Andy.” That disagreement — or discord — leads to an epic clash between the warriors.
“The action scenes in the movie were great,” Thurman continues. “We had an amazing stunt team, and it was really fun to play with some swords again — they’re very special to me. Charlize [Theron] is an amazing partner. Watching her was extraordinary. I think she’s pushing boundaries for women, and is just such a brave and powerful leading female force.”
“I believe audiences are excited to see Black Mamba and Atomic Blonde go toe-to-toe,” director Victoria Mahoney teased for Netflix, referencing two of Thurman and Theron’s previous iconic characters. But the showdown is more than just fan service for action-blockbuster lovers — although it is that, too. “For me, in any fight scene, there has to be a worthy opponent,” she said. “Worthy opponents effortlessly elevate fight beats, likewise, worthy opponents effortlessly elevate dramatic beats."
The warriors represent a life-or-death conflict: Andy’s ongoing inner struggle is her decision to keep fighting for humanity when the world doesn’t seem to be getting better; Discord has long given up hope and wants to blow it all up. Screenwriter and creator of The Old Guard universe Greg Rucka tells Tudum, “The first film is coming out of a place where Andy has found a purpose, so the second film has to challenge that. That challenge is embodied by Discord.”
Out of character, there was nothing but admiration between the two titans. “Charlize had so much on her shoulders — and she produced the movie as well,” says Thurman. “Watching a colleague carrying a film as the star, and then on top of that doing all of her own stunts, and producing the movie, it was just humbling and an incredible thing to see and to watch. I’ve never seen an actor do all of that at once. You can only imagine. And she’s a mother, so I think she takes it all up a notch as far as being a boss mom goes.”
“Uma, to me, is the OG when it comes to women in action of my generation,” says Theron. “I think that Sigourney Weaver as Ripley really set the tone as to what’s possible. But within my generation, what Uma did in both volumes of Kill Bill was definitive. I remember watching those movies. I went to see them in the theater, I’m not kidding you, I think eight times. Because of her commitment to the physicality, when you watch that movie, you completely believe that that’s her — and it’s the narrative of that character. She really inspired me.”
The Old Guard 2 deals with plenty of lower-case D discord among the rest of the immortals. Booker (Matthias Schoenarts) is still in exile after his shocking betrayal in the first film, and Quynh (Veronica Ngô) is back from centuries hidden away in the ocean — and let’s just say it wasn’t a restorative getaway for her.
Ngô told Netflix, “Being in that iron box was so terrifying and painful for Qyunh. But then coming back to a totally strange world … just imagine being away for maybe 10 years, 20 years, 30 years. This is 500 years, and everything has been changing.”
Meanwhile, Andy, Nile (KiKi Layne), Joe (Marwan Kenzari), Nicky (Luca Marinelli), and James Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) enlist the help of Tuah (Henry Golding), an old friend who may provide the key to unlocking the secrets behind immortal existence.
Golding said of working with Thurman, “Uma is literally the best. She is everything you want her to be. When we had scenes together, she'd look at me and the fanboy would come out.”
The Old Guard 2 comes roaring back to life July 2, only on Netflix. In the meantime, you can relive the first film The Old Guard now.
