A 5-Year-Old Superhero Movie Is Back in the Netflix Top 10 (and We Know Why)

After much anticipation, “The Old Guard 2” has now premiered on Netflix, and it looks like its 2020 original film counterpart, “The Old Guard,” is experiencing a significant resurgence in viewership due to the sequel’s arrival. According to Netflix Tudum, “The Old Guard” reappeared among the top 10 most-watched movies on Netflix towards the end of June, just before the release of “The Old Guard 2.” It’s hardly unexpected that “The Old Guard” would see a substantial increase in viewership following the debut of its sequel.

In Greg Rucka’s graphic novel series, “The Old Guard,” the story revolves around an immortal team of mercenaries, headed by Andy (played by Charlize Theron). Throughout the ages, they have adapted themselves into a group for hire. However, when their latest client, James Copley (portrayed by Chiwetel Ejiofor), discovers their unique healing abilities and invincibility, they become the target of pharmaceutical executive Steven Merrick (Harry Melling), who is bent on capturing these immortal mercenaries to replicate their powers.

In “The Old Guard 2”, Andy, having lost her immortality in the first film, persists in leading her squad on covert operations as mercenaries. However, they encounter a formidable adversary: Quynh, an old immortal ally, who was trapped in an iron maiden at the ocean’s depth for centuries. Her immortality caused her to suffer repeated, gruesome drownings. Freed by the malevolent Discord (Uma Thurman), Quynh reemerges with a thirst for vengeance against her former friends, whom she blames for leaving her to endure such an unimaginable fate for hundreds of years.

The movie titled “The Old Guard” premiered on Netflix on July 10th, 2020, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The film received generally favorable reviews and quickly became a streaming success for Netflix. For the next installment, “The Old Guard 2”, Victoria Mahoney took over as director from the previous film’s director Gina Prince-Bythewood, while Rucka also came back to collaborate on the sequel’s script with Sarah L. Walker.

Initially, “The Old Guard” was well-received, but unfortunately, its sequel, “The Old Guard 2”, didn’t start off on such a positive note. Although the Netflix comic book film has an impressive 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the sequel currently stands at just 25%. This significant drop is unfortunate, yet due to the direct nature of streaming releases, they typically aren’t significantly affected by negative reviews, particularly when it comes to sequels of popular titles like “The Old Guard”.

Although we haven’t received the figures yet for the performance of The Old Guard 2 on Netflix, the renewed interest in The Old Guard around the time of The Old Guard 2’s release suggests it could perform comparably well on Netflix. Additionally, if The Old Guard 2 becomes a significant streaming success like its predecessor on Netflix, it might pave the way for a potential The Old Guard 3.

The Old Guard and The Old Guard 2 are both available to stream on Netflix.

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2025-07-04 04:12