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John Wick rules. It’s one of the most universally praised action franchises starring one of the most ubiquitously beloved leading men in Hollywood history—Keanu Reeves. Three entries in, and the franchise has grossed more than half a billion dollars worldwide. Each new entry almost literally doubles the earnings of its predecessor, demonstrating that a swelling wave of fans is flocking to each release, and all but foaming at the mouth for more decadent violence. The action is excessive and awesome. Director Chad Stahelski’s time as the martial arts stunt coordinator and Keanu’s stunt double in the original The Matrix trilogy clearly informs his perception of his star’s capabilities and how best to capture them. While the exquisite action set-pieces are certainly the main attraction, the atmosphere and world-building set it apart from other invincible action-hero pictures. The neon-infused underworld of assassins, gangsters, and the industries populated by the oddball characters who make money off of them, seems limitless in its prevalence. One such institution, which is featured prominently in each film, is The Continental Hotel in New York City.
The Continental Hotel is an amnesty port in a world of wetwork. Patrons may visit the bar, enjoy a meal, or a room for whatever duration they can afford. They may enjoy the entire bounty of services and privileges of the hotel under the agreement that everyone is “off duty” (aka, no killing) when on the premises—lest they incur the wrath of management. The Hotel is run by an enigmatic and generous man named Winston (Ian McShane). Winston’s friendly but formal demeanor is accompanied by a sharp glint in his eye and comfort that betrays his power. McShane’s performance is flamboyant yet sophisticated and has helped pique the interest of Winston’s storied past. Back in 2017, a John Wick spin-off series was announced with very little information alongside the announcement. It’s been four years, coming up on five, since the show was announced, and casting and story details have finally started trickling out in recent months. Here’s a rundown of everything we know about The Continental.
Editor's Note: This piece was updated on September 17 with the latest trailer.
What Is The Continental About?
The Continental is a prequel series set in New York during the 1970s sanitation strike that saw the city literally flooding with trash. While it was initially announced as a series that would run side-by-side with the events of the movies, even alleged to feature Keanu cameos, it’s taking viewers back to the beginning. Lionsgate’s TV Chairman Kevin Beggs spoke to Deadline in April 2021 where he revealed the show will follow a young Winston on his path to the steward of The Continental Hotel in New York. Given the 40-year gap between this series and the films, news of recasts is already spilling out. As he put it, “What we’re exploring in The Continental is the young Winston and how it came to be that he and his team of confederates found their way into this hotel, which we have met for the first time in the movie franchise 40 years later.”
The series' ambition is remarkable. Between expectations, recasting iconic characters, and the quality of action television like Game of Thrones and Gangs of London, The Continental has a lot of hype to live up to. Chad Stahelski’s early comments on his hopes for the show belie the aspirations for the production saying, “Yeah, I’d like to give it a go and prove to the TV world that you can have feature action on a TV show. It would be a nice little feather in my cap, sure.”
The official plot synopsis for the series via Peacock reads:
The three-part event will explore the origin behind the iconic hotel-for-assassins centerpiece of the John Wick universe through the eyes and actions of a young Winston Scott, as he’s dragged into the Hell-scape of 1970’s New York City to face a past he thought he’d left behind. Winston charts a deadly course through the hotel’s mysterious underworld in a harrowing attempt to seize the hotel where he will eventually take his future throne.
Who’s Who in The Continental?
Stepping into the loafers of Winston Scott is Colin Woodell (Unfriended: Dark Web). He’ll play Winston without all the power he’s accumulated since his ascent. Woodell is joined by Ayomide Adegun, who will portray a young Charon—a character endeared to fans of the films by Lance Reddick’s performance. Rounding out the recast-crew is Peter Greene (Pulp Fiction). Greene dons the fedora of Uncle Charlie, the tight-lipped body disposal expert featured briefly in the films. Stepping into the series as the biggest name on set is Mel Gibson in the role of Cormac. Little is known about his character, but the legendary actor and director is joining a cast of varied experience—Adegun received his first acting credit on IMDB thanks to The Continental. Filling out the cast is Ben Robson (Vikings) as Frankie, Hubert Point-Du Jour (Doctor Death) as Miles, Jessica Allain (The Laundromat) as Lou, Mishel Prada (Vida) as KD, Nhung Kate (The Housemaid) as Yen.
The Continental is being run by Greg Coolidge, who’s mostly known for his comedic writing, and Kirk Ward. They share writing credits with Chris Collins (John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum), Derek Kolstad (John Wick Series), and Ken Kristensen (Happy) on the show. Outside of the characters, it’ll share a large amount of the creative minds in common with films as well. Chad Stahelski, Derek Kolstad, David Leitch (Deadpool 2), Paul Wernick (Deadpool), Rhett Reese (Deadpool), and Shawn Simmons will serve as executive producers on the show. While it originally boasted Chad Stahelski as a director for one of the episodes, Albert Hughes (The Book of Eli) is now slated to direct the opening and closing episode, with an unknown director helming the middle part.
Watch the Trailer for The Continental
The first teaser trailer for the series, set to Donna Summer's "I Feel Love," was unveiled by Peacock on April 12, 2023.
We got our first full trailer for The Continental on August 9, featuring nearly three minutes of non-stop action. On top of that, several stills from the series have also been released. On August 24, we also got a new behind-the-scenes video spotlighting the beginnings of Charon and Winston's friendship. See it here:
Peacock released The Continental's opening fight scene on YouTube days before the show's premiere.
When Is The Continental Scheduled to be Released?
The show is scheduled to premiere on Peacock on September 22, 2023. It’ll run as a miniseries with three 90-minute episodes. The series was initially going to premiere on the premium cable channel Starz, but in August 2022 it was announced that it would be heading to the NBCUniversal service instead. Kelly Campbell, President of Peacock and Direct-to-Consumer, said the following in regard to the move:
“The John Wick films have become a global phenomenon, are among the most watched titles on Peacock, and we are thrilled and honored to partner with Lionsgate to extend this incredible franchise. We understand the value of a global franchise and Val Boreland and team knew that by bringing this special event series to Peacock and putting the full power of NBCUniversal behind it, the premiere of The Continental will be the streaming event of the year."
The series will be available to stream on Prime Video for those outside of the US.