If you've read our review of The Old Guard, you know the gist. A small band of immortal warriors (because that's way more fun than just sitting around playing backgammon for a few thousand years) fights their way through the ages. Sometimes they're good, sometimes they're bad. "Depends on the century," they say.
The Old Guard movie was maybe a little too fast-paced for its own good. There's not a whole lot of backstory to be had on the group itself.
But now we've got a new featurette — The Old Guard Through History — that helps explain things. It's narrated by Troy Baker (you'll recognize his voice from such video games as Bioshock Infinite, Death Stranding, God of War, and Metal Gear Solid V) and tells the story of Andromache The Scythian. We know her as Andy, played by Charlize Theron.
Mostly unanswered in the movie (and not completely appreciated) is just how long Andy has been roaming the Earth. We know she's old. But how old? "Old."
Turns out, she's been at this for something like 7,000 years.
For the first couple of centuries she "led her people as a warrior queen, blessed by the gods." But eventually she was overcome by loneliness, which led her to strike out on her own.
"For thousands of years she roamed the Earth, learning, and teaching, and fighting — always compelled to move on. For thousands of years she searched for another to share the blessing — and curse — of immortality. And for centuries, she found no one."
The featurette is part graphic novel, part clip show, and it gives additional background on the other members of Andy's Old Guard and how everyone came to be, going a little deeper than the movie managed to.
It's a good companion to the movie — and a must-watch for Old Guard fans.
Watch The Old Guard on Netflix.
