Trivia / The Old Guard

• Fake Nationality: Belgian Matthias Schoenaerts as French Booker.
  • Zig-Zagged with Andy, Joe, and Nicky. As all three characters are from nations that no longer exist^note Scythia, an unknown state in the Maghreb, and the Republic of Genoa respectively, they technically can't share national origins with their actors, but Joe and Nicky are still played by actors from their states' modern-day successors, Tunisian-Dutch Marwan Kenzari and Italian Luca Marinelli. In contrast, Andy is from what is now Eastern Europe or Central Asia^note though, given that she's much older than Scythian culture, her true origins could be elsewhere but is played by American-South African Charlize Theron.
• Self-Adaptation: The original comic and original and final rewrites of the screenplay were written by Greg Rucka.
• Multiple Languages, Same Voice Actor: In the Italian and German versions, Luca Marinelli (Nicky) dubs himself. Averted in the French version with Booker, who is voiced by Boris Rehlinger even though Matthias Schoenaerts speaks French and has dubbed himself into French before.
• Troubled Production: Greg Rucka wrote the first screenplay, but when Charlize Theron came aboard, she had a number of issues with it, which were raised in a conference call that he referred to as "one of the worst experiences of my career". He did a rewrite, but was fired, describing the process as "frustrating, but that's Hollywood". Theron's production company commissioned a screenplay rewrite from two new writers, but Netflix and Skydance hated that version, and director Gina Prince-Bythewood reached out to Rucka for help as filming began. Eventually, Netflix and Skydance fired the other two, then hired Rucka back to rewrite the rewrite of his rewrite, and he was on set for most of the filming. During this time he and Theron got to know each other better, and were able to work out their previous differences when she realized he "wasn't acting like a standard prima donna writer, complaining about someone ruining their story". In particular, she raised the issue that one scene was too reminiscent of the stairway fight from Atomic Blonde (in which she sustained several injuries), and when Rucka not only agreed with her but wrote a new scene overnight, any reservations she had about him vanished.
• Wag the Director: A minor example: Joe was originally going to be shaven-headed, but Luca Marinelli (Nicky's actor) pleaded with Gina Prince-Bythewood for him to keep a full head of curls.
• What Could Have Been: A version of the script released as part of the movie's Hugo awards package contained several scenes that were written but not filmed:
  • Andromache and Quynh's relationship was all but confirmed as romantic, with Andromache delivering an Anguished Declaration of Love of her own.
  • Nicky and Booker had a much more Vitriolic Best Buds/squabbling brothers type of relationship, with Joe keeping the peace between them.
  • Nicky's status as Team Chef is also made more explicit. One cut scene had him obsessing over freshly acquired cardamom, while another showed him fussing at Joe Like an Old Married Couple because Joe picked up the wrong ingredient at the grocery store.

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