The Old Guard, based on the graphic novel written by Greg Rucka and illustrated by Leandro Fernandez , follows a group of immortal soldiers who heal Wolverine-style (though its unclear how they overcome explosions or missing limbs; do they, like, grow them back?). The power arrives randomly during an individuals life and also disappears randomly, or when the plot calls for it. The disappearance is supposed to mean something, but seems to only mean someone is getting ... old.
Age becomes, then, a salient talking point throughout the film. We learn that two characters were vampire bittener, we mean, immortalizedsometime during the Crusades (so, anywhere between 1095 and 1492, though likely closer to the First Crusades). Another character became immortalized in the 19th century. And then theres Andy, also referred to as Andromache of Scythia.
Andy is the oldest known soldier. She doesnt remember exactly when she first realized her immortality, which seems odd.
(Other questions Does time move slower for Andy since shes so old? Does her brain stay its age forever, and if so wouldnt she also be super smart and not just good at killing? And if you are super smart, why keep killing if all you want is to better humanity? Couldn't you learn everything there is to know about medicine and just, like, do experiments for hundreds of years? Also, why abandon Quynh when you have literally centuries to find her, and those Spanish ships couldnt have gone THAT far out to sea? And can you really drown forever if your lungs are still full of water? Wouldnt you just stay asleep?) We digress
So how old is Andy?
The hint is in that word "Scythia," which Copley mentions toward the end of the film. The word also appears during the bulletin board credits.
Scythia was a nomadic empire located across much or Eurasia in what is now Ukraine, Russia, and Crimea. Like the Mongols, the Scythians were revered for their horse-riding and warring. Historians trace the Scythians as far back as the 8th century BCE. That would be almost 10,000 years ago, making Andy very old. The empire collapsed at the hands of the Sarmatians before 200 CE.
Theron's Andy is, therefore, anywhere from 10,000 to about 20,000 years old.
That makes her almost twice as old as the other oldest living organism on Earth, a Bristlecone Pine tree , which is about 5,000 years old.
