She went from Furiosa to Fast & Furious 8 via Atomic Blonde – and after last year’s rom-com Long Shot and Oscar-friendly Bombshell, Charlize Theron is now back in action movie mode for her latest project, a fantasy-action graphic novel adaptation coming to Netflix. The Old Guard casts Theron as the leader of a group of immortal mercenaries, fighting to remain in the shadows when it looks like their existence might be about to go public. The streaming service has just unveiled the first trailer, giving us our best look yet at Netflix’s stay-at-home summer blockbuster.
There are some nice shots of Theron in all-out brawl mode there, and more of a sense of the story – with Kiki Layne’s newcomer Nile joining the crew just as their secrecy threatens to be destroyed. And it looks like the film will take full advantage of its immortal characters, with some flashbacks to what looks like medieval England involving hangings and an iron maiden. Elsewhere there’s Chiwetel Ejiofor in British baddie mode, joined by Harry ‘Dudley Dursley’ Melling.
The Old Guard is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, previously behind the likes of The Secret Life Of Bees and Beyond The Lights. The screenplay is by Greg Rucka, adapting the graphic novel he co-wrote with Leandro Fernandez. The film is due to arrive on Netflix on 10 July – one summer release date that won’t be reliant on lockdown measures lifting.