Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, “The Old Guard 2” (2025) was a competent action film with a solid narrative setup. Still, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t one of those middling Hollywood offerings that felt like they were written by ChatGPT even before ChatGPT existed. Greg Rucka’s script—adapted from his own graphic novel—reached for emotional depth but never quite landed it, offering only brief glimpses of feeling that confirmed its intention more than its impact.
It positioned itself as an empathetic (yet painfully basic) franchise starter. In that sense, this sequel, directed by Victoria Mahoney, could have, at the very least, extended that tone and temperament with some basic sense of purpose.
To be fair, this film does swing for scale. It’s a globetrotting adventure now. The violence is dialed up, and the stakes are supposedly more “personal” for the immortals, though even that feels like a stretch. The tussle with mortality is more pronounced, more exhausting. Unfortunately, Rucka insists once again on adapting the screenplay from his comics himself, and the addition of Sarah L. Walker in the writing credits doesn’t do much to salvage the mess.
“The Old Guard 2” commits what has now become the cardinal sin of the Netflix school of greenlit mediocrity: not being hilariously bad or proudly pulpy, but being so aggressively boring and unimaginative that the former would’ve been a blessing. Unnecessary conflicts get shoved in, tacky production design seems coded into its DNA, and the most promising threads of the predecessor are shrunk or tossed aside for no visible reason. To act as a filler installment is one thing. To cement itself as the weakest entry in a franchise where the rest haven’t even arrived yet? That’s ambition of another kind.
In that sense, this explainer isn’t a time-waster. Because the film itself demands a good chunk of your patience, relishing its torturous holiday of exposed identities and emotionally vacant character beats instead of delivering the high-stakes heroism its weapon-brandishing poster art promises. What follows, instead, is a straight-up guide to who dies, who plays god, and what expectations this confused sequel lays out for whatever cinematic purgatory it calls its future.
The Old Guard 2 (2025) Movie Plot Summary and Synopsis:
The film opens on an island in Croatia, where Andy and her group of immortals—Nile, Joe, Nick, and the mortal Copley—are drawn out of hiding to eliminate a new adversary named Conrad. Andy continues to grapple with the loss of her immortality, sustained only in part by Copley’s mortal companionship. Meanwhile, Booker—exiled from the team for previously shooting Andy and rendering her mortal—is held captive by Quỳnh.
Who rescues Quỳnh?
Once Andy’s closest comrade, Quỳnh, was captured 500 years ago and sealed in an iron maiden, left to endlessly drown and revive in isolation for centuries. She is rescued by a mysterious figure named Discord, who nurtures her bitterness into a simmering vendetta against Andy, born of what Quỳnh sees now as unforgivable abandonment.
Who is Discord?
Discord is revealed to be the world’s first immortal. With her backing, Quỳnh sharpens her rage into vengeance. Meanwhile, Andy’s team turns to Tuah, a sage-like immortal possessing deep knowledge of their shared origins. Tuah aids them in confronting Discord and Quỳnh. During a brief clash at Rome, Andy and Quỳnh face each other after centuries. Discord cryptically tells Nile that while she herself was the first, Nile will be the last, with immense, possibly cataclysmic powers, suggested by their identical and seemingly prophetic birthmarks.
What is Nile’s power?
Tuah believes Nile is a “destroyer,” i.e., if she wounds an immortal, the injury won’t heal, and immortality is lost. When Tuah asks Booker whether Nile ever harmed Andy, he confirms that in their first encounter, Nile injured her, and it was then that Andy’s immortality disappeared. Booker later challenges Nile to a sparring match; she wounds him, and he, too, loses his immortality. He hides this change from everyone except Tuah.
The Old Guard 2 (2025) Movie Ending Explained:
What happens to Booker?
When Discord and Quỳnh set up bombs designed to kill millions, the team intervenes. In the process, Booker sacrifices himself, transferring his remaining immortality to Andy. She regains her ability to heal, while he becomes mortal.
What happens to the team?
Booker is killed in the ensuing melee. Quỳnh, wounded by Nile, also loses her immortality. The rest of Andy’s team is captured and frozen by Discord.
What is Discord’s plan?
The final confrontation plays out between Andy—newly immortal again—and Discord. During the fight, it’s revealed that Discord herself has lost her immortality and now seeks to reclaim it. Her plan involves using Nile to strip Andy’s team of their powers, thereby regaining her own. She temporarily disables Andy and escapes with the captives. Andy returns to the library, where she reunites with Quỳnh. The two reconcile, bridging the centuries of betrayal and pain. Mortal and immortal once more, the ancient partners ready themselves to face Discord and rescue the Old Guard, leaving the story on a cliffhanger.
