Charlize Theron.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
Los Angeles: Hollywood star Charlize Theron says post-production shutdown by Netflix on the action drama The Old Guard 2 delayed the release of the much anticipated film but the sequel will come out soon.
Written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, The Old Guard was released in 2020 and emerged as among the most popular movies to ever hit the streaming platform.
Theron, who played Andy/Andromache the Scythian heading a group of immortal warriors fighting for justice, said the follow-up film finished shooting about two years ago. It faced a lengthy delay due in part to a change in Netflix leadership.
"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," she told Variety.
The actors and writers' strikes also played a role in pushing back the film.
"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. It's really good... It will come out soon... It's a really important film to us. I only wanted to do it if we could make it amazing. I really love this movie," the Oscar winner added.
Upon its release, The Old Guard, based on the comic book series by Greg Rucka and illustrator Leandro Fernandez, was praised for its stunning female-led action sequences and background score.
The film followed a small group of immortal soldiers, led by Andy, who has been working as mercenaries for centuries. But the group gets a shock when they find a new immortal woman, not long after they discover that an evil group has video evidence of their immortality.
The second chapter was directed by Victoria Mahoney with Uma Thurman and Henry Golding joining returning cast members Theron, Kiki Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, Veronica Ngo and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Theron also produced the action drama through her company Denver and Delilah, alongside Skydance's David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger.