These days everyone in film wants to get in on a comic book movie franchise, which has allowed not only minor characters from the big two (Marvel & DC) but also titles from smaller and Indie printing companies to get some time in the spotlight. One such example is Netflix's recent original film which was a screenplay adaptation of the comic book The Old Guard.
To help support the recent Netflix release, we here at Comic Book Movie set up several exclusive interviews with the creators. We got to pick the brain of comic book artist and co-creator Leandro Fernandez, who is well known for his work on Marvel titles such as Punisher MAX, Wolverine, and many more.
Check out what Fernandez had to say aboutThe Old Guard below and if you're interested in checking out the audio component to the interview you can do so by scrolling down and clicking the podcast link at the bottom!
Joe: I know you've been involved with The Old Guard comic book for years. Could you tell me how you originally became involved with the project?
Leandro Fernandez: I have been working in comics for many years and Greg came to me with this idea that he wanted to make a limited series about a group of Immortals and I told him I would be interested. I became hooked immediately on having an Immortal story, and it was something very interesting from the beginning.
After we finished the first book I told Greg (Rucka) that we needed to have more and we finally decided to make it three volumes in length. That's how it started and then the movie came after that.
Joe: Now were you involved with the Netflix adaptation at all? I know Greg was a writer.
Leandro Fernandez: He actually wrote the screenplay for the movie and I did some drawings and some production things but I wasn't particularly involved in adapting the comic to the movie.
Joe: I'm curious then how long this film has been in the works?
Leandro Fernandez: I thinkI they started filming this in May of 2019 but there was some production work done before so I don't know exactly. I think they just finished the production work not too long ago but I couldn't say for certain on that.
Joe: I was curious of any of the actors that act in the movie were inspiration back when you first started drawing the book?
Leandro Fernandez: Well actually, when we started creating the book, of course this was much earlier than us knowing that we would eventually have a picture. So we started from scratch and nothing and I never thought of who could play these characters.
I needed them to have strong personalities and each of them to be recognizable because they are a group of Immortals and they will be seen in different eras of time around different areas of the globe with different fashion changes all of the time and in different situations. So these characters had to be easily recognizable, and at the same time I wanted each of them to have a strong personality, that was my goal. I wanted the reader to read a different voice for each one of them when he was reading the comic book.
I did this way before I knew we would have a movie but I am very happy with the choices for them because I feel that a lot of respect and attention is paid to the comic book. I couldn't imagine a better choice for them, and I'm really happy. I honestly never thought about who it could be when I was working on the comic book. I'm so glad that they are who they are today in the movie.
Joe: You mentioned that there are three volumes of The Old Guard, are those all already out or are there more coming?
Leandro Fernandez: No, we just finished the second one and we will have the collector's edition in September. We will be starting on the last one quite soon.
*This interview has been edited for clarity.*
What do you think of Fernandez's comments? Have you had a chance to check out The Old Guard on Netflix?
Be sure to check out the audio component of Fernandez's interview via the Podcast link below and share your thoughts on the film with us down in the comments section!
Forever is harder than it looks. 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 (LOVE & BASKETBALL, BEYOND THE LIGHTS), THE OLD GUARD is a gritty, grounded, action-packed story that shows living forever is harder than it looks.
The Old Guard is now streaming on Netflix!