Latest news with #immortals
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Old Guard's Charlize Theron and cast on centuries-old same-sex love stories
The Old Guard movies teem with astounding action sequences from hand-to-hand combat to a daring helicopter rescue. But a pair of centuries-long same-sex love stories, platonic or otherwise, adds emotional heft and heightened stakes to these tales of a band of immortals fighting for humanity. Based on the graphic novels from writer Greg Rucka, The Old Guard (2020) delivered a love story for the ages between Marwan Kenzari's Joe and Luca Marinelli's Nicky while hinting at a deep connection between Charlize Theron's Andromache of Scythia (Andy) and Veronica Ngô's Quynh, who's been trapped in an iron maiden in the ocean for centuries. Henry Golding, Luca Marinelli, Marwan Kenzari, Charlize Theron, Kiki Layne in 'The Old Guard 2.'Courtesy of Netflix Spoilers ahead. In director Victoria Mahoney's The Old Guard 2, Uma Thurman, who recently played the president in the queer favorite Red, White & Royal Blue, stars as Discord (the earliest immortal) unshackles Quynh to reach the newest Old Guard member, Nile (KiKi Layne) through her relationship with Andy. With Quynh, who pervaded Andy's memories in the first film, free from her watery prison, a reunion between them, 500 years in the making, becomes a centerpiece of the sequel. 'It's truly been one of my top favorite relationships that I've ever been a part of in the development period because we get to explore it as a thought, really, in the first one. And it really served one purpose, and that was to just say that Andy is haunted by something, right?' Theron tells Out.' 'I knew that she was going to be a big part of it just because of how much we emotionally leaned on her for Andy's emotional story. And therefore, it was never kind of like this linear exploration. It's been this kind of searching and grabbing,' she adds. 'We've had to discover it in a way as we're going along. And to me, that is almost exactly who they are to each other. They had to do that same thing with each other. And since they haven't seen each other in 500 years, they're grabbing onto memories the way I can't even remember things when I was five years old. We make history, we remember it the way we want to.' A quick internet search turns up fan sites devoted to Andy and Quynh and their truly epic story. Andy wields a long double-sided axe, a labrys, an ancient Greek symbol of power adopted by lesbians in the 1970s (who can forget Corky's labrys tattoo in Bound?). Still the mystery of their relationship is a draw for Theron, who's starred in overtly queer roles in Monster and Atomic Blonde. 'I love that the two of them are coming together with all of that and that we don't get into the specifics. They just are. We're not underlining them. We're not saying who they are to each other, they're just living those circumstances,' Theron says. 'And I love those kind of relationships.' Uma Thurman as Discord in 'The Old Guard 2.'Courtesy of Netflix The first Old Guard film from Gina Prince-Bythewood released at the height of the pandemic in 2020, introduced the immortal love story between Nicky and Joe that included swoon-worthy speeches about their love. "He's not my boyfriend. This man is more to me than you can dream,' Joe says at the start of a romantic speech. They're back in The Old Guard 2, forever at each other's side, hundreds of years into their relationship. 'For me, it's a very rich connection. And whether the audience picks up the fact that they're lovers or soulmates or brothers or in my mind, it can have any of those qualities and doesn't necessarily have to be specifically one of those forms of sharing love,' Kenzari says. Luca Marinelli as Nicky and Marwan Kenzari as Joe in 'The Old Guard of Netflix Friendship among women and a mentorship between Andy and Nile deepens in The Old Guard 2 as well. Layne touches on the film's chosen family onscreen and off. '[Mentorship] it's something that the first film really started to set up, just kind of this beautiful journey that [Nile and Andy] go on of literally first starting off fighting each other and then Nile, I mean, sacrificing her life. She's immortal, but saving Andy and coming back for the team and really choosing the Old Guard as her family,' Layne says. 'We see that continuing in the second film, and seeing what she's learning. Nile is learning from Andy, and I get to learn from Char and learn from Uma this time around too.' Though Discord is The Old Guard 2's villain, she's imbued with a sense of ethics gone awry. Thurman says her character has a 'deep respect' for what 'Andy has created for herself…which is the ability to continue to connect and to have closeness with others and give her life meaning.' Existential questions of humanity are the themes of the film, Thurman says, but Andy and Discord face them from differing perspectives. 'They're just coming at the sort of pondering good and evil and losing faith and losing hope. … I think Discord is…is a little bit shadier or at a different point in her own struggle with giving up, losing hope, losing faith, and letting darkness consume,' she says. 'I think people go through that in their own lives.' is now streaming on .This article originally appeared on Out: The Old Guard's Charlize Theron and cast on centuries-old same-sex love stories
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Old Guard 2' Star KiKi Layne on Panic Attacks, Cortisone Shots and Being a Black Female Action Hero: ‘All of This Is Much Bigger Than Me'
It's just days before the release of 'The Old Guard 2,' but KiKi Layne is already thinking about a third movie in the action franchise. 'I pray for it,' Layne says. 'I'm like, 'Please, everybody watch this movie. Come on, let's get this greenlit.' I would love to do it again.' In the second installment, directed by Victoria Mahoney and available on Netflix, Layne reprises her role of Nile, an immortal ex-Marine who joins her fellow immortals (Charlize Theron, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Henry Golding) to stop two of their own Discord (franchise newcomer Uma Thurman) and Quynh (Veronica Ngô) from destroying mankind. More from Variety 'Jurassic World Rebirth' Star Manuel Garcia-Rulfo on His Character's 'Sexy' Shorts, Working with 'Hot Motherf--er' Jonathan Bailey and 'Lincoln Lawyer' Season 4 'The Old Guard 2' Review: Charlize Theron Leads Her Team of Immortals in Another, Lesser Battle Lena Waithe, Brandon Flynn Featured in LGBTQ Doc 'Reclaim the Flag' (EXCLUSIVE) I talked to Layne on Zoom the day after the movie's red carpet premiere in Los Angeles. This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity. Do you maintain your fitness for that long? [Laughs]. When it was greenlit, I had met my man and we were eating good so I had to make some adjustments to get ready for number two. Pushing yourself physically in a way that is a bit out of your norm, I really enjoy that as an aspect of character building. Nile is a very physical character. She's a Marine. I see all of the training as an opportunity to honor who Nile is, while, at the same time, it's a really nice feeling when your body's changing and you're feeling stronger. I'm like, 'Oh, I might be able to knock somebody out now.' I see stunts and fight choreography as an extension of the character and as an extension of the storytelling, so I want to be a part of that as much as possible. But honestly, the stunt where I jumped from the balcony to the flag. We had rehearsed that numerous times, and I had done it numerous times, and there was a day that we were rehearsing it and I was scared. It's like something in my brain was just like, 'No, we've already let you do this five times. You cannot do it again,' and I just couldn't make the jump. So on the day we were filming it, I go upstairs to set, and my double is ready to do it, and I'm like, 'What's happening here?' They're like, 'Oh, we're about to do the jump.' I said, 'I'm doing the jump.' And then I did it. I jumped from a balcony to a flag and swung through a window. It was amazing. That would be when we did all the fighting in the nuclear facility because Nile has a weapon now. It was all of the shoulder work. I had to get my first cortisone shot because I was whipping that damn [sword] around. I'm slicing and dicing and stabbing and jumping, and at some point, my shoulder said, 'Ma'am, we've had enough.' She has such a beautiful grace about her, the way that she carries herself, but it still is very warm. I loved doing scene work with her. She was so committed to really understanding each scene. She would take the time to sit together and ask each other questions: 'Does this make sense? Are we on the same page?' You don't always get time for that, and so to work with an actress who really prioritizes what's on the page, that was one of my favorite things about working with Uma. Mind blown. I mean, that's a dream come true, especially starring alongside them in an action film, because what they represent for women in action is unmatched. They kicked down doors for what a female action star could look like and the types of things and the types of physicality that we as women are capable of. I'm truly super grateful, and that Charlize in particular, as a producer, prioritized making space for me as a Black woman in this genre. A big part of why I wore my hair out the way that I did in the film is because of Charlize. We were in the car and I told her, 'I think I'm going to braid it back.' She was like, 'No, wear your hair down.' When do you see an action star with locs? So moments like that, of being given permission to take up space fully as myself as a Black woman in this genre, those are the types of gifts that Uma and Charlize gave to me during this process. I'm forever grateful to both of them for that. That's what I do it for. I hope to be the representation for little Black girls that I wish that I had more of growing up. Anytime that people come up to me and say that they felt seen by me playing the type of roles that I've been blessed to play, that means everything to me. That's the reason to keep going because this business, it gets hard. It's a really tough time in the industry right now. Work is scarce. There's a lot of ups and downs regardless of what level of success you've reached. As they say, new levels, new devils. And so in moments where I'm feeling a bit low and unsure, thinking about who I am trying to represent, who I am trying to encourage and uplift, sometimes that can give me more of a push to keep going than just thinking about myself. I have to be reminded all of this is so much bigger than me. I turn to my fiancé, Ari [Stachel]. You know, he's also an actor, but mostly known for Broadway, so he definitely understands these ups and downs very intimately. I am blessed enough to have a partner who pushes me. He's literally had to pull me off the floor having a panic attack because I've done a self-tape, and I'm just already fully convinced that I'm not going to get it. To have a partner who can be patient when I'm saying to him, 'I'm gonna quit, and I'm gonna go do real estate or teach,' and he looks at me and goes, 'Teach? Kiki, what are you going to teach?' [Laughs]. He's the first one that really starts to pull me out of the funk. And then my mom, who's been with me from the beginning of the journey and thankfully, is always praying for me in this wild business that I've committed myself to. That really put it into perspective for me, like we always get what we're supposed to get from every moment – even from the stuff that hurts, even from the stuff that is frustrating. It all happens for a reason, and sometimes when you're in it, you can't see the reason, and maybe the only thing you're looking forward to is getting out. But now that I'm on the other side, I'm grateful for that. The film's going to be what the film is going to be. It doesn't take away from the work that I did and the people I got to work with. It was so much fun. We had a great time, and I met my man. Best of Variety Oscars 2026: George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Roberts, Wagner Moura and More Among Early Contenders to Watch Oscar Predictions: Best Picture — Netflix, Neon and Warner Bros Could Dominate Season With 'Frankenstein,' 'Sentimental Value' and 'Sinners' New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘The Old Guard 2,' Like Its Superheroes, Feels Ancient
So there are these immortals, y'see — folks who have been around for millennia, and are capable of healing from any wound, regenerating any severed limb. Cut off a finger? No problem! A group of these gifted, unkillable ass-kickers have banded together and, led by a centuries-old Scythian warrior named Andromache (Charlize Theron), will take on the dirtiest of mercenary jobs for a price. There's also Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts), who fought in the Napoleonic Wars before joining up; Nicky (Martin Eden's Luca Marinelli), a former priest from Italy; and Joe (Marwan Kenzari), a former merchant from Iran. Both of these men first battled each other during the Crusades, continually trying to slay the other over many eras. The two eventually became lovers. 'Andy,' as she's known by her colleagues, runs a tight ship. Even when she's having issues with their latest recruit, a U.S. marine named Nile (KiKi Layne) who's just discovered she's an immortal, or is attempting to shield the group's existence from Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a nosy C.I.A agent, Andy watches everyone's backs and makes sure the job gets done. Calling themselves the Old Guard — get it? — they are the type of superheroic anti-heroes for whom ballads are written. Or comic books. Or screenplays that milk those comic books for a potentially lucrative franchise for a streaming service. More from Rolling Stone Lena Dunham Says She Took an 'Intentional Break' From Acting After 'Girls' Watch Liam Payne Offer Guidance to Aspiring Musicians in 'Building the Band' Trailer 'Trainwreck: Poop Cruise': 5 Things We Learned Anyone who's not a die-hard stan (a Guardhead?) will definitely need a refresher before going into The Old Guard 2, which just dropped on Netflix, as the sequel to the 2020 movie assumes that viewers know every bit of backstory backwards and forwards. An impressive take on Greg Rucka's comic book series that benefited from the writer adapting his own work, the original Old Guard had a lot going for it: Theron capitalizing on her post-Atomic Blonde action-flick chops, director Gina Prince-Blythewood (Love & Basketball) finding a nice balance between character development and choreographed fight sequences, a same-sex love story that felt genuinely romantic in a genre usually allergic to even token LGBTQ+ representation. What this second installment has in its favor is familiarity, a built-in fanbase — it remains one of Netflix's most popular original, blockbuster-style movies, according to Netflix — some extra star power in the form of Uma Thurman, and the fact that you don't need to extend much energy to pick up a remote control. That's really about it. Building off the deep lore of the first film and ending on a cliffhanger that telegraphs its creators are crossing their fingers for a third film, The Old Guard 2 is an extension of a story that takes your investment in these people, concepts, and situations. It's a new chapter in a saga, yet like its characters who've been practicing the art of war since Sun Tzu coined the term, the sequel somehow feels ancient and a little creaky. Remember Quynh (Victoria Ngo), Andy's old immortal running partner who was sealed in a sarcophagus and dropped into the sea, sentenced to a life of perpetual drowning? She's been found and retrieved by Thurman's all-purpose bad guy, who goes by the supervillain handle Discord. Remember how Andy mysteriously lost her powers of regeneration partway through the first film, which is a huge disadvantage when your whole deal is 'warrior for hire who can never be killed?' That's still an issue. Remember when Copley decided that, rather than bust these off-the-books mercs, he'd help conceal their identities? The former intelligence agent is now aiding them in missions that involve, say, the occasional siege on a Croatian crimelord's fortress. Remember how Booker was sentenced to a year-long exile after shooting Andy? He's still persona non grata, but not for long. Long story short, Discord has plans for using Quynh and her eye on Nile. This caricature of an all-powerful, morally bankrupt no-goodnik is actually the oldest immortal around. 'I was there, you know,' Discord says, staring at something offscreen. 'I can still remember it, the acrid stench of hate in the air.' Cut to: a painting of Jesus on the cross. [Slow clap] Nile, she believes, is the 'last immortal to ever be born,' and may hold the key to killing off everyone. Meanwhile, an immortal librarian named Tua (Henry Golding) thinks he knows why Andy lost her powers, and has a theory on how she might regain them. Theron can still pull off the fight scenes. Thurman can still handle a katana like an expert, even if it's not one forged by Hattori Hanzo. Marinelli and Kanzari's kiss-kiss-bicker-bicker double act is still charming, if a little underutilized. New director Victoria Mahoney (whose personal narrative arc is a thousand times more interesting, moving and compelling than anything happening here) throws in the occasionally inventive bit of filmmaking, as when she stages Andy walking through an alleyway that morphs from one historical period to the next with every step she takes. Shots are fired, punches are thrown, and things blow up real good. Everyone reads their lines clearly, hits their marks, and the camera stays in focus. There's a sneaking suspicion that, while Mahoney, Theron, her costars, and the crew are doing their best to sell this superhero story — and by extension a franchise that Netflix can use to produce numerous other sequels, possible TV spin-offs, etc. — in the most professional manner possible, The Old Guard 2 isn't quite the movie it wants you to think it is. Or rather, it's dangerously close to not being a movie at all so much as just one more piece of expensive 'content' that the streamer can slap into menus and use to game your viewing algorithms. If you have not been fully converted to Team Old Guard going into this, you will not click off your TV having suddenly become a O.G. devotee. And yet, because this has all of the busy bells and whistles we associate with blockbusters, it will likely be paraded as a runaway success story regardless. It's the oldest trick in the book. Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Best 'Saturday Night Live' Characters of All Time Denzel Washington's Movies Ranked, From Worst to Best 70 Greatest Comedies of the 21st Century
The Review Geek
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
The Old Guard 2 (2025) Ending Explained – Does Quỳnh forgive Andy?
The Old Guard 2 Plot Summary It may have taken 5 years to get The Old Guard sequel but here it finally is! And The Old Guard 2 cast includes old and new faces such as Charlize Theron, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Matthias Schoenaerts, KiKi Layne, Henry Golding, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, Veronica Ngô and Uma Thurman. As a quick refresher, the first movie follows a bunch of immortals, led by Andy, who go around saving the world and humanity from man-made dangers. In the first movie, they face an existential crisis, an innovative villain and centuries-old regret. The Old Guard 2 picks up where it left off with a now-human Andy, Nile, Joe, Nicky and Copley teaming up to get rid of powerful criminals. But trouble is afoot as Nile dreams of a strange woman wreaking havoc. Traps are set but the team races to her willingly as this new danger is none other than Quỳnh, the immortal Andy failed to save 500 years ago. Seeking revenge against the immortals and humanity for abandoning her, Quỳnh ropes in the team's exiled member, Booker and a mysterious woman, Discord, who may be more powerful than all of the immortals combined. What is Discord's true plan? A couple of months after the ending of The Old Guard, Discord, the first immortal, saves Quỳnh and enlists her in her supposed plans for revenge against humanity. Another immortal, Tuah, explains to Andy's team that Discord was disillusioned with humanity after they tortured Quỳnh and Andy. When Nile confronts Discord, the latter claims that Andy's obsession with saving humans is making immortals a target. The team deduces that Discord wants to either kill Andy or stop them from going on their missions. Discord sets up a trap by having Quỳnh plant bombs in an Indonesian nuclear facility which can kill millions of people. Once the team arrives to disarm the bombs, Discord separates everyone and is able to kidnap Nile, Nicky, Joe and Tuah. When Discord and Andy face off, the former's true motives are revealed. Discord has turned mortal and wants to regain her immortality. She plans to force Nile to wound an immortal and give their immortality to her every time she loses it. As for the willing aspect, she believes that she can torture the immortals into willingly giving her their power. What is the lore on the immortals? Discord claims she is the first immortal and Nile is the last since they share the same birthmark in the same place. All immortals can die after a couple of millennia, as seen with Discord and Lykon losing their immortality. A wound from the last immortal can take away immortality. Nile stabbed Andy when they first met, which is why Andy lost her immortality. We again see this when Nile stabs Booker and Quỳnh and they become human. The wounded immortal can also willingly give their immortality to someone else before it is lost. This is proven when Booker is able to give his immortality to Andy. Why does Booker give his immortality away? From the first movie, we see that Booker is tired of his life as an immortal. He believes that he needs to be able to die, for his actions and for his existence to have meaning. However, Andy doesn't feel the same way. She wants time to make things right with Quỳnh and stop Discord. Since she has a purpose, Booker decides to give his immortality to her. He also wants to make up for betraying her to Merrick in the first movie. Does Quỳnh forgive Andy? Along with giving up her rescue attempt, Quỳnh is upset with Andy when she refuses to join her in her revenge against humanity. She teams up with Discord as she wants everyone to suffer which the first immortal promises to help with. However, Quỳnh realises that Discord doesn't care about her during the trap at the facility. Instead of helping a wounded Quỳnh who has lost her immortality, Discord kidnaps Nile. Quỳnh decides to take her revenge into her own hands as she grabs the detonator. But flashbacks show that she was always the moral one between her and Andy. Andy arrives in time and states that Quỳnh will have to live with her choice. Frustrated, Quỳnh abandons her plans to bomb the place as she knows she would be killing innocent people. After Andy's failed attempt to rescue her team, she saves Quỳnh and they hole up in Tuah's library. Andy spends her time nursing Quỳnh and looking into ways to stop Discord. Over the days, Quỳnh's walls break and she enters into a truce with Andy. We see some friendly banter as they head out to save the immortals at the end of the movie. Read More: The Old Guard 2 Movie Review
New York Times
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘The Old Guard 2' Review: Thurman vs. Theron
Five years ago, 'The Old Guard' injected a tired genre of superhumans in capes with existential alienation and grit. The aim of that film, about a crew of immortal vigilantes who go on rescue missions to help mankind, was admirable but also frequently one note. What could another installment offer? The best that a sequel can: buff out those blemishes, expand the universe and subvert the genre again. In 'The Old Guard 2,' superheroes saving humanity is out, gods beefing with gods is in. The film, directed by Victoria Mahoney, is a sure-footed romp that tightens the screws, most immediately by flexing a bigger cast and broadening the lore of the original comic book series. All this expansion starts right where the last one ended. Believed to be lost under the sea for centuries, Quynh (Veronica Ngo), a fellow immortal and lover of Andy (Charlize Theron), has returned. She's discovered by Discord (Uma Thurman), another mysterious immortal who is opposed to Andy's meddling in human affairs. Aggrieved and feeling abandoned by Andy, who is now mortal, Quynh then becomes a useful tool for Discord. Whereas the first film was focused on the arrival of a new immortal named Nile (KiKi Layne), this one has forgotten immortals popping up (like Tuah, played by Henry Golding). That means a lot of drama, and fertile ground for these supreme beings reckoning with the most human of experiences: love and betrayal, guilt and regret, all complicated by being alive for millenniums. Ngo is the key anchor to these feelings, providing a strong emotional counterpoint to Theron that was just present in flashbacks the first time around. The shared history in their gazes and the pain and recriminations of losing and finding each other again translates the wistful burden of immortality that the first film mostly said, but couldn't really make you feel. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
