‘Everybody Deserves To Be Seen As A Hero,’ Says ‘Old Guard’ Director

The Old Guard filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood always loved action movies — she just never thought she’d have a chance to make one. “Those doors were not open at all to women,” she says. “It’s so hard for women to get into the room, because we don’t have action on a resumé. But how do you get action on your resumé if you’re not hired to do films with action?” It wasn’t until Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman was released that Prince-Bythewood felt a shift: ” The success of the film … absolutely cracked the door open.” With The Old Guard, Prince – Bythewood becomes the first Black woman to direct an adaptation of a comic book. “What I bring as a Black female to my craft and in being a director … [is] recognizing how important it is that everybody deserves to be seen as a hero,” she says. The film, which premiered on Netflix, stars Charlize Theron as the leader of a diverse group of world-weary warriors who have lived for centuries and have been killed many times — only to have their wounds