‘The Old Guard 2’ Cast on Making a Sequel That Bleeds, Thinks, and Fights Harder

On July 2, Netflix and Skydance will finally be unleashed The old guard 2the long -awaited sequel to the 2020 action with Charlize Theron as Immortal warrior protecting humanity. Before the release, Io9 caught up the stars back Kiki Layne, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Marwan Kenzari, as well as the newcomer of the Henry Golding franchise (Asian rich crazy,, Snake-eyes), to speak of entering the brutal and secret world of Image Comics Universe And what it took to give life to his next chapter.

Isaiah Colbert, io9: the evolution of the Nile of a recruit with a wide -wide eyes to a experienced immortal occupies the front of the stage in this film. What aspects of its growth – whether through the grain of its action sequences or in -depth links with its team – was the most rewarding so that you can come to life?

Kiki Layne: Of course, the growth of Nile physically. The waterfalls I have to make, choreography, having a weapon, it was really fun to push my physique to new levels for the second film. It was certainly the highest point for me for the trip of the Nile this time.

IO9: Joe and Nicky’s link continues to anchor the heart of this story. How do you and you and Luca Marinelli sail in the evolution of their dynamics, balancing their secular intimacy with a renewed meaning when they are faced with the climbing of film threats?

Marwan Kenzari: To be honest with you, we develop our quirky friendship. We are talking about constantly. If [Marinelli] is in his trailer, I will visit him. We are going to sit down and spend an hour or two together talk about so many different things and aspects of life that we, ultimately, automatically bring this [with us] When the camera rolls. It’s just a gift we have. We don’t have to pretend that we love each other. I really love this man. It makes it much easier to do the work.

Io9: Since the first film, Copley has gone from a reluctant ally in a deadly shoulder shoulder shoulder with immortals as an essential member of the crew. How did this more physically demanding role in this role – while always carrying the weight of its humanity – repel or deepen your performance this time?

Chiwetel Ejiofor: I enjoyed it. In the first, I was a little disappointed that I was standing at the edge of all the action. They must get involved [and] Have all the pleasure. I was really excited when I read the script, and it was like: “Oh, Copley entered it now?” It’s great. He sometimes needs a tap on his shoulder – people tell him that he is not immortal too. I love the idea of ​​him – not just in the technical sense – by organizing the team and manage operations using his skills. The real on the field and really stuck is a very good addition to the character of Copley.

Io9: Tuah marks your entry into a set stacked with heavyweights. Seeing your main role in Snake-eyesYou are not unrelated to an intense choreography, but how did you find your rhythm within this team? And were there moments on the set that reminded you how much The old guardThe world can be compared to Gi Joe‘s?

Henry Golding: I was a big fan of the first film. I think the opening sequence in the killing room was phenomenal. It was the action that we had not really seen. The design of it was so visceral. I knew we were going to bring back part of the choreography. Unfortunately, I didn’t have as much as I would like, but what I got was so fun to be part. The great thing about The old guard is balance. The real story is the human aspect of life as an immortal. Action is the consequence of the world around them. Finding this balance is crucial. It was absolutely fun to get stuck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyivgz074Py

Io9: This film had a longer route to publish than expected, with delays and reshuffles delaying its calendar. Faced with these production challenges, what helped you all rally as a distribution and crew to keep energy and concentration of life, and your links with your characters?

Ejiofor: The films take the time they take. As an actor and casting, you are always delighted to get involved. We now know these characters in a way where it is not easyBut it is normal to jump. We are always able to return to stuff, and I think everyone understands that making films is complex. Sometimes they take a little more time, and you have to understand how to do this, and it’s great.

Io9: fight in The old guard 2 aims to be more intense and more personal. How have you all prepared for the sequences this time?

Kenzari: As Chiwetel mentioned, it is part of your muscle memory. The choreography that the Cascades team offers, you cross them and you improve, you increase the speed. It is a fun part of the pre-production of a day of shooting where, in the end, you just want to master the choreography as good as possible. This is how we prepared the first part, and it is the same way that we worked [part two]- It’s just that the choreography is different and more than what we had in the first.

IO9: If you could set up emblematic action film stars against each other in an immortal fight against Immortal like Charlize Theron and Uma Thurman, who would you like to see Carré?

Kenzari: Good question.

Layne: Uma against Charlize is pretty up there.

Ejiofor: Atomic blonde against Predator Arnie. This is what I would like to see – maintain at hand. Store the cannons.

Kenzari: Predator Arnie is good.

Golding: I like that.

Kenzari: Skin on the skin.

Everyone: (laughs)

Ejiofor: Condemn.

Golding: How do you beat that? Next question.

Kenzari: Do Alone at home Count as an actor?

Everyone: (laughs)

IO9: Fans have been custody for the first time for the first time. What do you hope that the public withdraw from this chapter, not only to satisfy this long wait, but to remind them why this story was worth it?

Kenzari: The immortality element of the whole mortality is a huge highway in the arc of narration in it. I think that is the question, even with us in the last days of interviews. This is the question that comes back constantly: what do you prefer to have [in] Either one of these two? So many things in the film relates to this fragile and sensitive aspect of healing and healing people – die and not being able to die – is something that the public will think after the end of the film.

Ejiofor: I think they are great characters, and I think that is what you will remember and that you have missed – these very big characters and this incredible team. And there are things to think. There are philosophical questions in there and deep emotional resonances with their history. There are a lot there.

The old guard 2 First on Netflix on July 2.

Do you want more iO9 news? Find out when you wait until the last Wonder,, Star WarsAnd Star Trek outings, what is the next step for the DC universe on film and televisionAnd everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.