This year, Netflix releases the long-awaited sequel to one of its most underrated action movies, The Old Guard. Based on the comic book series of the same name by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández, the first movie tells the story of a legendary immortal group of millennia-old warriors who have fought behind the scenes to stop future tragedies from occurring. However, when a pharmaceutical corporation discovers the Old Guard’s existence, its CEO sends out mercenaries to capture them to use their blood for financial gain.
In July 2025, The Old Guard 2 lands on the streaming service, offering the next chapter in the story of these immortal warriors and their task of saving the world from terrifying and ᴅᴇᴀᴅly threats. This means there is plenty of time for anyone who missed it after its initial release to catch the original movie. While streaming offers plenty of positives for people who love movies, especially genre fare, it’s easy for viewers to forget about films as more flood the market. However, The Old Guard deserves a second look.
The Old Guard Is One Of Netflix’s Most Underrated Action Movies
The Old Guard Has An 80% Fresh Rotten Tomatoes Score
Although it was a Netflix release and never made it to theaters, critics still offered great praise for the action film, which sits at 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. According to Netflix, 78 million subscriber households watched the movie in its first week of release (via Variety), and it remained in the top five for its first four weeks on the streaming service. It also received nominations at the GLAAD Media Awards (Outstanding FIlm – Wide Release), NAACP Image Awards (Outstanding Directing), and won a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation – Long Form.
The movie stars Charlize Theron as one of the world’s oldest immortal warriors, Andromache ‘Andy’ of Scythia, who was born around 4700 BCE, making her over 6,700 years old. Her team differs in age, but the other members are younger than Andy, as she has found them and brought them together over the years. The first movie had their main enemies as a pharmaceutical company led by a greedy CEO named Steven Merrick (Harry Melling), who wanted to capture them and use their blood to create new drugs, thereby becoming wealthy and more powerful.
However, the selling point, aside from the idea that big pharma is bad, is that the immortal warriors are a family. While they are all immortal, they can still get hurt, and they believe they will eventually die. They also welcomed a new member in Kiki Layne’s Nile Freeman in the first movie, who gained her powers after the team was attacked and killed, but before they reanimated and realized a new immortal was in play. That made the first movie’s twist and betrayal work well, and it made the eventual Old Guard sequel exciting for fans.
Why The Old Guard 2 Took So Long & What To Expect From The Sequel
The Old Guard 2 Hits Netflix In July 2025
The Old Guard was a successful action movie for Netflix, and it seemed a sequel was imminent. Netflix green-lit the sequel and sent it into production in January 2021. However, it took four years from that point before the film finally received a release date. With that said, the problems make sense when looking at the Hollywood timeline after the movie’s 2020 release. That’s when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, shutting down Hollywood movies and TV shows. That delayed everything in production.
Then, in 2023, the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes shut down Hollywood again. This once again halted production on almost everything, and the movies fans expected to see in theaters were pushed to the front of the line. There was also a change in Netflix leadership that paused production on The Old Guard for an additional five weeks (via Variety). Most Netflix sequels take between two and four years, and this one took five.
The first movie ends with a final scene that shows that Andy’s old ally and close friend Quŷnh is alive.
The Old Guard 2 brings back Charlize Theron as Andy of Scythia as she faces off with a new “formidable” enemy. There isn’t much known about the plot, but The Old Guard ends by showing Andy’s old ally and close friend Quŷnh alive after being sealed in an iron maiden and thrown into the sea 500 years prior. In the first movie’s final scene, she shows up to greet Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts), who the team exiled after he betrayed them. Centuries of dying from drowning and then reviving over and over could have driven the former warrior mad.
According to reports, most of The Old Guard’s cast are returning. This includes the remaining members of The Old Guard: Andy, Nile, Joe (Marwan Kenzari), and Nicky (Luca Marinelli). Booker is also back, likely working with Quŷnh, as is Chiwetel Ejiofor as James Copley, the man who discovered the group’s existence and is now forced to help them as part of his redemption. Uma Thurman and Henry Golding also signed on in unknown roles, while Victoria Mahoney signed on as the new director.
