Remember superhero movies? They were fun, weren’t they? In a development that would have seemed unbelievable at the start of the year, we’ve seen a long drought of them in 2020, with just Birds of Prey and Bloodshot squeaking in before the COVID-19 lockdown hit. This has meant that 2020’s superhero blockbusters like Black Widow and Wonder Woman 1984 have been kicked back to later in the year, leaving an almost superhero-free summer ahead of us.
But there’s some light on the horizon. While there might not be superheroes on the big screen, there’s a Netflix Original superhero movie coming next month in the form of The Old Guard. Based on Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez’s comic of the same name, it follows a pack of mercenaries who are secretly centuries-old immortals possessed with insane fighting skills and able to heal from any wound.
Charlize Theron stars as their leader Andromache of Scythia, known as ‘Andy’ in modern times. Despite the pic’s high concept though, she explained in an interview with Empire Magazine that what attracted her to the role was how grounded it was.
“My initial reaction when I read The Old Guard graphic novel was that I felt there was something very grounded in Andy. That was the thing that excited me: despite the concept, she felt real, and not ‘fantasy’. So, I tried to bring a genuine exhaustion to her, and not get bogged down in the idea that she’s lived thousands of years, she’s seen it all, and she knows every kind of martial art there is.”
Theron went on to tease the movie’s action as well, mentioning that they worked with the fight team from John Wick. As Theron rightly says, these guys are currently considered “the best in the industry,” which is a good sign that The Old Guard isn’t going to skimp on the ass-kicking. Of course, Theron herself is no slouch when it comes to action, having won universal praise for her performance as Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road and going on to star in The Fate of the Furious and Atomic Blonde.
Those with long memories will remember that this isn’t Theron’s first superhero role, either. She appeared in 2008’s Hancock as the superpowered wife of Will Smith’s titular hero and has one of the coolest fights in the movie.
Right now, The Old Guard is looking great, so I’ll certainly be there on July 10th when it premieres on Netflix.
