The versatile Academy Award-winner Charlize Theron has done her share of prestige dramas, studio comedies, and offbeat indies. But she might be best known for her action movies. 2005’s “Æon Flux” didn’t quite grab hold at the time, but it led eventually to the epic “Mad Max: Fury Road.” Since then, Theron’s Liam Neeson-esque pivot to action has been solidified with roles in “Atomic Blond” and “Fate Of The Furious.”
2020’s “The Old Guard” from Netflix only cemented that status. “The Old Guard” soon became one of the most-watched movies on Netflix at the time, all but ensuring a sequel would be made. “I’m sure when it’s the right time,” Theron said after the film’s big release, “we’ll start the conversation.”
Well, it’s the right time. Obviously, a sequel has already been announced, and now there’s more concrete movement as Uma Thurman (“Kill Bill”) and Henry Golding (“Snake Eyes”), neither of them strangers to the action genre, have been cast.
All the major players from the first film will reprise their roles, including Theron, Kiki Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, Veronica Ngo, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Greg Rucka, who wrote the original graphic novel, will once again provide the screenplay. Skydance Media (“Top Gun: Maverick”) will again produce, along with Denver and Delilah, and Marc Evans Productions. Original director Gina Prince-Bythewood, however, will step aside for Victoria Mahoney, a TV veteran who has helmed episodes of “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Power,” and “Lovecraft Country.” She was also a second-unit director on “Star Wars: Rise Of Skywalker” so she is finally getting her big shot.
In the meantime, Theron’s schedule remains as packed as ever. Coming up this summer is Netflix’s “The School For Good and Evil,” she is currently shooting her part in “Fast X.” After that, it’s “The Old Guard 2.” Then sometime after that, another action franchise in “Atomic Blonde 2.” Of course, she was also revealed to be playing Clea in the post-credit sequences of “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness” so eventually she’ll be joining the Marvel fold in a big way.
“The Old Guard 2” does not have a release date or even a production start date, but the announcement of two new significant leads joining the franchise likely means production will start in the next few months for a 2023 or early 2024 release.