Charlize Theron's 'The Old Guard' Adds Matthias Schoenaerts And 'Aladdin's Hot Jafar Marwan Kenzari

Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, and Luca Marinelli will be taking orders from Charlize Theron in the upcoming Netflix action film The Old Guard. The co-production between Netflix and Skydance media is a sci-fi action film starring Theron as a leader of a small, covert group of immortal mercenaries who discover the existence of a new immortal. Read more about The Old Guard cast below.The Old Guard cast is adding Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts (Far From the Madding Crowd, Mustang) alongside Aladdin villain Marwan Kenzari, and Italian actor Luca Marinelli as part of the squadron of immortal mercenaries led by Theron, according to The Hollywood Reporter. They're joined by Kiki Layne of If Beale Street Could Talk, who plays the squad's newcomer, Nile Freeman — a U.S. Marine who "reluctantly joins the group after discovering that she can't die," according to Collider.

Collider has more details on the characters played by Schoenaerts, Kenzari, and Marinelli, describing Schoenaerts' role as a French warrior named Sebastian le Livre (who now goes by Booker) who is "hundreds of years old and weary of immortality." Meanwhile, Kenzari will play Yusuf Al-Kaysani (aka Joe), who has been around since the Crusades, where he fought against Marinelli's Nicolo di Genova (aka Nicky). But in the years since, Joe and Nicky are now lovers. Theron leads the cast as The Old Guard's 6000-year-old team leader Andromache of Scythia.

Here is the synopsis for the film per THR:

Guard tells of a small group of soldiers, led by a woman named Andy (Theron), who are inexplicably immortal and have been working as mercenaries through the ages. The novelty of not dying long gone, the group gets a jolt in their bones when they discover the existence of a new immortal Greg Ruck at the same time as a nefarious organization captures their undying actions on camera.

Schoenaerts is the most intriguing new name in this cast, frequently stealing scenes in films like Rust and Bone and A Bigger Splash, in which he's acted opposite Oscar winners like Marion Cotillard and Tilda Swinton, respectively. He's a fierce, brooding force of nature in every role he inhabits, and I look forward to every film he's starred in. Meanwhile, Kenzari made an impression as Hot Jafar in Guy Ritchie's live-action Aladdin, and will likely be getting even bigger roles in the future. Layne, of course, is a tremendous talent who provided the warm, beating heart of Barry Jenkins' transcendent If Beale Street Could Talk.

Gina Prince-Bythewood is directing the Skydance/Netflix project based on the comic book series by author Greg Rucka and illustrator Leandro Fernández. Prince-Bythewood and Rucka co-wrote the screenplay.