Charlize Theron Greenlighted For A Sequel To One Of Her Biggest Action Movies

Charlize Theron is coming back in a sequel for one of her more popular and well-reviewed action movies. It should be a good one.

By Doug Norrie | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

charlize theron old guard

Charlize Theron has been a lot of things over her career though for a long time wasn’t really considered anything close to an action star. But that’s been changing over the last few years with the talented actress taking more and more high-octane roles that have ended up performing really well with viewers. And now she’s fully leaning into the action with the recent news that a pandemic blockbuster flick is getting greenlit for a sequel. That’s right, Charlize Theron is coming back in The Old Guard 2

The Old Guard, with Charlize Theron in the lead, was a big surprise for Netflix over the summer. Theron starred as Andy, short for Andromache of Scythia, a near-immortal who along with her merry band of other un-killables act as rogue warriors and have throughout time. They can heal almost instantly from even the worst injury and over the years have developed into the most brutal fighters in the world. The film follows their story in the present day with others catching on that these fighters have been around for a long, long time. 

Based on the comic book series of the same name, The Old Guard and Charlize Theron entered the top 10 of most-watched Netflix original films of all-time. As of July, it had been streamed more than 72 million times, ranking it sixth on the list. It’s easy to see why considering the concept was novel enough and the film was fast-paced and ruthless. The only films above it were Extraction, Bird Box, Spenser Confidential, Murder Mystery, and 6 Underground. 

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Critics were mostly on board with the proceedings and it hit 80% on the Tomatometer with reviews praising the handling of the plot, laying a solid backstory for an interesting group of characters and really liking the darkness and soul that Charlize Theron brought to the role. She carries the movie as an immortal coming to grips with her own mortality while bringing on a new member to the party. It’s just a kickass part. 

For Charlize Theron, now headlining a possible comic book movie/ action franchise is basically on her more recent career path. Aeon Flux never really fully captured a wide enough audience back in the early 2000s, but in recent years she’s been in Mad Max: Fury Road and Atomic Blonde. These were two decidedly different roles but reinforced the idea that she’s totally at home in these kinds of movies. 

The Old Guard ended in such a way that primed it easily for a sequel, setting up a scenario that will help expand the world and bring in new characters. It was meant to whet the whistle of viewers and primed the film for a follow-up if the reception was there. It was. And now were are going to get more of Charlize Theron as Andy. Beyond the movie getting the green light, we are still in a holding pattern on the rest of the details. But expect them to start coming more and more in the short term.