While Marvel fans can’t wait to see Chiwetel Ejiofor return as Baron Mordo in the sequel to Doctor Strange (which is gonna be awhile), the actor will appear in another piece of comic book fare when The Old Guard arrives in July. Obviously, the Netflix Original will be a much different experience than the CGI-heavy Marvel movie with its sorcerer battles and ancient demons, but Ejiofor tells Comic Book that the characters are what truly separates Doctor Strange and The Old Guard, which focuses on a team of immortal warriors led by Charlize Theron.
“These characters have a different set of attractions for me, I guess,” he said. “And there’s something about this that’s very, kind of, it’s very grounded. These are people who aren’t, who don’t celebrate their gifts at all. You know, that actually their immortality they carry as a kind of burden, which is quite an interesting way into this, into the story.”
Unlike Baron Mordo in Doctor Strange, Ejiofor’s Old Guard character isn’t defined by a strict code, which allows him to be more multi-faceted.
“My character, Copley, is very, he’s complex,” Ejiofor said. “I have a great deal of empathy for the character, you know, because of what he has gone through, but he’s obviously crossing all of these moral and ethical lines in the way that he is behaving and what he’s getting drawn into.”
Here’s the official synopsis:
Led by a warrior named Andy (Charlize Theron), a covert group of tight-knit mercenaries with a mysterious inability to die have fought to protect the mortal world for centuries. But when the team is recruited to take on an emergency mission and their extraordinary abilities are suddenly exposed, it’s up to Andy and Nile (KiKi Layne), the newest soldier to join their ranks, to help the group eliminate the threat of those who seek to replicate and monetize their power by any means necessary. Based on the acclaimed graphic novel by Greg Rucka and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, THE OLD GUARD is a gritty, grounded, action-packed story that shows living forever is harder than it looks.
The Old Guard hits Netflix on July 10.
(Via Comic Book)
