The Old Guard 2 finally gets long overdue (and exciting!) update from Charlize Theron

It's been a long time coming for The Old Guard fans and any updates regarding the release of the highly anticipated sequel. Well, your patient waiting has been rewarded in spades with some exciting news from the Netflix original film's star and producer Charlize Theron.

During the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project Block Party in July, Variety's Marc Malkin caught up with the Academy Award winning actress and received an exclusive update directly from the source. If you have been wondering about the status of The Old Guard 2, you can wonder no more!

Theron assures fans that the sequel will be coming to Netflix "soon," though to be fair that's not really a firm timeframe. This year? Next year? She didn't specify, though she did explain what has been taking The Old Guard 2 so long to bring to our screens after filming took place two years ago.

The Old Guard 2 coming 'soon' to Netflix

In addition to the writer's and actor's strikes bringing the film and television industry to near standstill for many months in the second half of 2023, the sequel's post-production process appears to have been put on hold in the wake of changes made behind the scenes at Netflix.

Here's what Theron said about the status of The Old Guard sequel:

"Netflix went through quite a changeover. We got kind of stuck in that and our post-production shut down, I think, five weeks into it. They were going through a lot of changes, and I totally understand it. We finally picked it back up and I’m really excited about it."

Charlize Theron

The changeover Theron could be referring to Dan Lin taking over as the new Netflix Film Chief, replacing Scott Stuber as the head of the streamer's film department. The Netflix movie boss shuffle was announced in February 2024 and seemingly went into effect the following month. This shift, which obviously didn't happen overnight, could have very likely caused much of the streamer's upcoming movies to put a pin in their release plans.

However, Theron's new update suggests that it's all systems go and full steam ahead on finishing up work on The Old Guard 2. The actress teased that it's "really good" and that she "really love this movie." Although she's no stranger to making and starring in sequels, Theron also told Variety that she only wanted to make the Netflix sequel "if could make it amazing." Sounds like they did!

As mentioned above, The Old Guard 2 began filming in June 2022 and eventually wrapped in September 2022, after the pandemic and an on-set fire created a delay in production. Netflix first gave the movie the green light back in August 2021. The sequel was directed by Victoria Mahoney and sees Uma Thurman and Henry Golding joining the cast.

Last year, producer Marc Evans teased that the ending of the sequel could potentially open the door for a third movie, which would make The Old Guard another film trilogy on Netflix. But before we get too ahead of ourselves and hope for a third movie, let's just get the first sequel finished and onto our watch lists first, shall we?