The Old Guard 2 ending defended by director after surprising final scenes divide viewers
The cliffhanger ending left some fans frustrated.
*Warning - contains major spoilers for The Old Guard 2*
Fans of Netflix's 2020 film The Old Guard have been waiting five years for the sequel, but finally it has arrived on Netflix, and it has already been surprising - and frustrating - some viewers.
The film ends with the villainous Discord, who has lost her immortality, planning to force Nile to take it from the rest of Andy's team, and transfer the power to herself.
She captures Nile, Copley, Joe, Tuah and Nicky, whose fates are left in the balance.
Meanwhile, Andy reunites with Quynh, and the final scene of the movie sees them running out the door together to try and save the team.
The ending has certainly proved divisive, with some fans calling it "annoying", and another saying that the film "doesn’t have a climax, it doesn’t have a middle nor an end, it ended and it felt like it was beginning to start the plot".
However, the director of the film, Victoria Mahoney, has now defended the film's ending, telling ScreenRant that she 'stands behind it'.
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Mahoney explained that she and the team didn't purposefully decide to leave things open-ended, but that they approached it by reckoning with the movie's themes.
"The people who spearheaded it, we were concerned and interested in a sense of wonderment and hope," Mahoney said of the film. "I wasn't attached to how we got there. I was attached to [that feeling] of wonderment and hope and strength and fortitude and unity.
"As far as it being a cliffhanger, I don't know how to approach things as a mechanism."
Mahoney added that she was entirely focused on showing "what's occurring with the characters in any given moment".
"That's all I'm chasing," she said. "That it happens to be a cliffhanger, that it involves some stuff that may make some people happy and some people p***ed off, that's not my circus. I'm just trying to do it honestly and earnestly. I stand behind it."
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Now, fans will just have to hope that a third film gets greenlit, so they can find out what happens to Andy and the rest of the team.
Mahoney has told Entertainment Weekly that she doesn't know anything about the future of the franchise, and that while she hopes "audiences get it", she "won't be there" to direct it.
The Old Guard 2 is available to stream on Netflix now. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
