Chiwetel Ejiofor, Harry Melling and Veronica Ngo have joined the cast of Netflix’s upcoming action-fantasy film ‘The Old Guard,’ reports Deadline. Charlize Theron also joins the project as a producer along with Netflix and Skydance. KiKi Layne, Marwan Kenzari, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Luca Marinelli round out the cast along with Theron. The movie is based on the 2017 graphic novel series of the same name created by Greg Rucka and illustrator Leandro Fernández.
The book series centers on a group of soldiers who find themselves in a trap of immortality where they are not allowed to die! The movie will reportedly follow the group of immortal mercenaries who discover that their extraordinary skills and powers are exposed by a shadowy organization. Moreover, they find out the emergence of a new immortal warrior who can pose a threat to their centuries-old legacy.
‘The Old Guard’ is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, who is known for ‘Beyond the Lights,’ from a screenplay she co-wrote with Greg Rucka. David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger of Skydance produce the film along with Charlize Theron, Beth Kono, and AJ Dix for Denver and Delilah and Marc Evans. Stan Wlodkowski and Greg Rucka serve as executive producers.
Ejiofor’s upcoming movies include the long-awaited Disney reboot of ‘The Lion King,’ in which the actor lends his voice to the villainous Scar, brother of Mufasa. He joins an ensemble voice cast that includes Beyonce, Donald Glover, James Earl Jones, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, Alfre Woodard, and John Oliver.
The actor will also be seen alongside Angelina Jolie in the sequel to the 2014 blockbuster ‘Maleficent.’ The movie is helmed by Joachim Ronning who is known as the co-director of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.’ Apart from Ejiofor and Jolie, the movie also features Elle Fanning as Princess Aurora. Angelina Jolie plays the iconic role of the horned fairy, Maleficent. According to various reports, Ejiofor portrays the role of a romantic antagonist opposite Maleficent.
A possible sequel for the 2016 movie, ‘Doctor Strange,’ is also in the pipeline for Ejiofor. The cryptic post-credit scene of the movie ended with Ejiofor’s iconic character Baron Mordo stealing the mysterious powers from Pangborn, telling him that Earth has “too many sorcerers.”
Principal photography for ‘The Old Guard’ started in Europe in May 2019. Netflix hasn’t attached a premiere date for the movie yet.
Cover Image Courtesy: Columbia Pictures (Salt).
