The old guard is the last original movie to hit Netflix. Starring Charlize Theron as an immortal superhero, the film takes her character to various international cities. The landscapes and architecture presented are beautiful, making many fans wonder where The old guard was actually filmed
‘The Old Guard’ is based on a comic
Netflix’s The old guard It is based on Greg Rucka and the comic by the illustrator Leandro Fernández of the same name. It focuses on a group of immortal soldiers who become the target of a medical corporation that plans to extract its powers for profit.
The film begins with Andromache de Scythia aka Andy (Charlize Theron) reuniting with his teammates: Sebastian le Livre aka Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts), Yusuf Al-Kaysani aka Joe (Marwan Kenzari) and Nicolo di Genova aka Nicky (Luca Marinelli) . The team then heads to South Sudan, where they are ambushed but survive.
Andy then heads to Afghanistan to recruit his new immortal ally, Nilo (Kiki Layne). From there, the team heads to Goussanville, France, where they use an old abandoned church as a hideout.
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‘The Old Guard’ was filmed in only two countries
From France to South Sudan, The old guard take your characters around the world. But according to director Gina Prince-Bythewood, filming only took place in two countries: England and Morocco.
“We had to create three countries within Morocco,” he told Radio Times. “The beauty of Morocco is that the landscape is so different at all times that we were able to realistically create Afghanistan and realistically create South Sudan.”
The old church that was established in Goussainville was actually the Church of All Saints in Shirburn, Oxfordshire. And the French pharmacy that Andy visits was filmed in the town of Sandwich in Kent. Prince-Bythewood said he would have loved to take the production to other countries, but that it was limited by the film’s budget.
“I was hoping to shoot in France, and we had explored there and it was my first time there,” he said. “But when you don’t have the funds, which was shocking to me given how much we had, creativity doesn’t matter.”
The director tried to find beauty in every place.
In an interview with Motion Pictures, Prince-Bythewood said he could have used outdoor sets to mimic many of the locations represented in The old guard. But ultimately, he decided to use the landscapes he had available to make it look more organic.
“In terms of production design, we use many natural places instead of building them,” he said. “There is something about being in a real space, its natural history, its appearance, its sensation: finding that beauty in every area we filmed was essential.”
It’s safe to say that the Prince-Bythewood approach worked. It was almost impossible to say that the film was filmed anywhere other than where its story took place. If the movie has a follow-up, it will be interesting to see which international cities fans will see next.
The old guard It is currently streaming on Netflix.
