Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Old Guard 2.The Old Guard 2‘s director explains why the movie gives one character a heroic send-off. Taking place after the events of Victoria Mahoney’s The Old Guard, the 2025 sequel sees Matthias Schoenaerts’ Booker living his life as an exile, having betrayed Andy (Charlize Theron) and injured her in the first movie.

In The Old Guard 2‘s ending, Booker, who has reconnected with the team, decides to give his immortality to Andy and chooses to sacrifice himself to save her in the final confrontation, so that she can go after Discord (Uma Thurman), who has captured their fellow teammates.

During an interview with The Direct, Mahoney shed some light on Booker’s sacrifice. The director admitted that Booker’s last moment was one of her “favorite scenes” and credited the actors for making it seamless and moving. Mahoney sees the scene as “an exceptional expression of life” that’s filled with “life and love.” Check out her comments below:

It’s one of my favorite scenes… But what he did in that scene, what he’s capable of doing as an actor, which each of them, you know, in their different scenes, respectively, just have the ability to hit these moments that are so solid and effortlessly.

And I’m not saying they didn’t go through a lot of labor to get to that release or expression or offering, but when you’re watching it, it just flows out of them. And so that entire sequence, which we could probably, in the sweet tune of Mr. Joseph Campbell, say is the hero’s death.

And I believe every beat from the moment up to there to the scene in the house before with him and Andy is like that scene with the two of them on the bed. And that’s his way, that’s when he comes to say, you know, he’s saying, I defer, and so I surrender.

And then, so, when he goes down, true to Booker’s form, it’s such an exceptional expression of life. It looks like it’s could be suicidal or pᴀssive suicide, in a way that he knows that he’s walking into a room and he won’t come out of that room, but what he does in that room is so filled with life and love, and I just find it quite moving and straight up to the end.

When he was there, it was just him, and I with the—Barry’s there with the camera, and I’m standing off to the side, and I’m lying on the ground at Barry’s feet, and Barry has the camera, and I’m asking him to hold his breath. Just hold your breath, his shoulder breath over.

And you can hear it in the track where I’m holding for so long, trying to, like, you know, see his [breath] go, and then, but that moment when he just… Oh, it’s terrible. It’s terrible. It’s so cinematically delicious.

What This Means For Booker’s Story In The Old Guard 2

Booker’s Death Is More About Choosing Life

Booker has fought alongside the immortals for centuries, and his betrayal in the first movie isn’t driven by malicious intent, but rather by his own weariness with immorality and a search for death. In The Old Guard 2, the character finds a way out of immortality while giving his death meaning by making Andy immortal again.

Mahoney’s comments clarify that Booker’s actions are more about love than his desire to end his immortality. In the scene where he visits Andy, Booker is injured by Nile (KiKi Layne). But as he realizes his wound wasn’t healing, he sees Andy’s wounds start to heal. Even though he knows he won’t come out of it alive, this is what makes the sequence beautiful and powerful.

Mahoney not only explains what Booker’s demise means in the context of his overall story, but also how they captured the sequence during production, for the biggest emotional impact. Booker’s death is particularly “terrible” and tragic because of all the moments leading up to his last scene.

Our Take On Booker’s Sacrifice In The Old Guard 2

Booker Is A Flawed Hero

Booker has a “hero’s death” because his sacrifice, in the end, isn’t selfish. He not only gives Andy his immortality, but he dies for her specifically so that she can have a chance to save their teammates. That makes his action authentic to the character fans have known since The Old Guard, despite him having made some questionable decisions at times.

Mahoney’s comments also explain why Booker’s death isn’t as simple as him finally finding a cure to immortality in The Old Guard 2. While his decisions are at times dark and depressing, they are more about loyalty, life, and choosing his teammates rather than himself, which makes his death heroic at its core.

Source: The Direct