Old Guard 2 Director Teases the Dark DC Movie She Pitched to WB Execs

Victoria Mahoney is currently at the helm of The Old Guard 2, a blockbuster Netflix sequel continuing the globe-trotting story of Charlize Theron’s team of immortal warriors. The film is an action-heavy spectacle focused on a team of heroes fighting to protect the world. However, during a recent interview with ComicBook to promote the new movie, Mahoney revealed her creative ambitions lie in a much different and darker corner of the comic book world. The director confirmed she has actively pitched an idea for a “DC Dark” project to Warner Bros. executives, including DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran. The project she has in mind is a world away from the heroic spectacle of her current film, focusing instead on a psychologically complex character study of a broken but well-meaning antihero.

“I have a soft spot for DC Dark,” Mahoney said. “I want in on the DC Dark realm. The DC Dark people know that. [Peter] Safran’s over there, Pam Abdy knows, it’s not a secret that I want in on the DC Dark. I love the DC Dark, and I love an antihero, so I like an individual that, when you first interact with them, you think, ‘You really shouldn’t be doing that, I don’t know if that’s ethical.’ Then you realize some great agony occurred in their life that they can’t get past and they’re doing good, but they’re broken and they don’t know how to function in the world, but don’t mean to hurt, but they don’t know how to coexist with others, but they’re actually doing good. So those characters excite me, and I’m gonna solve that.”

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The “DC Dark” label Mahoney references was originally a proposed banner for films that would exist outside the main DC interconnected continuity, allowing for more mature, standalone, and director-driven stories. While the banner itself was never formally implemented, its ethos lives on in films like Todd Phillips’ Joker and Matt Reeves’ The Batman. Her detailed description of a “broken” hero who does good despite their trauma fits a number of iconic DC antiheroes. Characters like the cynical occult detective John Constantine, the faceless vigilante The Question, or even the rhyming demon Etrigan are all prime candidates for the kind of deep-dive character study Mahoney described.

Victoria Mahoney’s Secret Comic Book Pitch

While her ambitions for a DC Dark film are focused on the future, Mahoney also told us that she was once very close to directing another major comic book adaptation. This previous project even resulted in some makeshift filmmaking at her home.

“I was close to a comic book character [movie], oddly enough, and I took my name out of the running to do this movie, just so you know,” Mahoney explained. “It was a massive movie. I made a video in my house, I hired a young actor, and I shot this whole thing for it. I have it, and I’m gonna figure out if I can release it. If I do, I will give it to you, and you can release it, and you’re gonna be like, ‘Holy sh-t.’ It’s a thing I did with a little camera in my house, and it’s amazing. It’s raw and raggedy, in my living room, but it’s me, it’s my pitch that I did for this job. It is f-cking cool, and it has to do with me as a kid loving comics.”

Despite a shaky Rotten Tomatoes score, The Old Guard 2 is currently ranking high on Netflix’s streaming charts. The sequel’s synopsis reads: “Andy (Charlize Theron) and her team of immortal warriors are back, with a renewed sense of purpose in their mission to protect the world. With Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts) still in exile after his betrayal, and Quynh (Veronica Ngô) out for revenge after escaping her underwater prison, Andy grapples with her newfound mortality as a mysterious threat emerges that could jeopardize everything she’s worked towards for thousands of years. Andy, Nile (KiKi Layne), Joe (Marwan Kenzari), Nicky (Luca Marinelli) and James Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) enlist the help of Tuah (Henry Golding), an old friend who may provide the key to unlocking the mystery behind immortal existence. Directed by Victoria Mahoney, and also starring Uma Thurman, The Old Guard 2 is an emotional, adrenaline-pumping sequel, based on the world created by Greg Rucka and illustrator Leandro Fernandez.”

The Old Guard 2 is now streaming on Netflix.

Which DC Dark character do you think Victoria Mahoney would be perfect for? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.