- Warning: Spoilers ahead for Netflix's "
The Old Guard ." - The ending of "The Old Guard" opened a lot of doors for a sequel.
- If you kept watching as the credits rolled, you already met the potential next villain in the series.
Netflix's "The Old Guard" is an explosive action movie that has thrills all the way to the end credits.
I mean, that was a pretty impressive ending.
After disposing of the evil Merrick (Harry Melling), Andy (
'The Old Guard' ending left key plot points up in the air
One of those loose ends is the group punishing Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts) for selling out the team. It's decided that he is to go into exile and can't rejoin them for 100 years. That leads to an emotional goodbye between Andy and Booker. Since she's likely now mortal, the exile means they may never see each other again.
A sequel would also let us explore the evolution of Nile's character. It's clear the new immortal member is special. If the sequel were set a few years or a decade into the future, it would be fascinating to watch how Nile has become even more skilled than she already was in the first movie.
And then there's Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor). Andy takes a liking to the former CIA agent's impressive research into the group's work over the centuries. Andy believes Copley can serve a purpose — he's the only one who fully appreciates how the lives they've saved have shaped humanity to what it is today.
So she gives him a role on the team: Find them missions and keep their identities secret.
"When we leave a footprint in the sand, in the snow, in the ether, you're going to sweep it," Andy says. "You're going to protect us from those who want to put us in cages, and you're gonna help us find those jobs that are best suited to us."
If that isn't a clear sign that Netflix wants to turn this movie into a franchise, I don't know what is.
The ending also set up a potential villain in the sequel
Before the credits even roll, we get a big surprise when the exiled Booker is visited by Quynh (Van Veronica Ngo).
Centuries ago, the movie explains that Andy and Quynh were a dynamic duo until they were punished for being witches. The two were separated and while Andy finally got away, Quynh was less lucky. She was imprisoned in an iron maiden and thrown into the sea. Because she's immortal, she's been endlessly drowning for over 500 years.
But by the movie's end, Quynh has somehow managed to escape her underwater prison and surprises Booker in Paris, where he's currently spending his time while exiled from the team.
"Booker," Quynh says, calmly taking a sip of water. "It's nice to finally meet you."
"The Old Guard" comic co-creator, Greg Rucka, who wrote the movie's screenplay, told Polygon that the return of Quynh (who is named Noriko in the comics) will be a big turning point in any potential sequel. In the comics, she's an antagonist to Andy's group, having become understandably damaged and misanthropic after drowning for centuries.
"I think what Veronica does with the one line she has sends chills down the spine," Rucka told Polygon about Quynh's arrival to Booker's apartment. "And the fact that she's pouring herself a glass of water. You kind of go, 'OK, the lights are on, but nobody's in that house anymore.'"
It's possible the real world may make it harder to film a sequel in the near future given the limitations that the coronavirus places on Hollywood. But with the way the "The Old Guard" ended, it would be very disappointing if we don't see a sequel sometime in the future.
And Charlize Theron agrees.
"We went into this talking about [a sequel] as a possibility," Theron told Total Film, "and it's definitely something that excites us."