What we know about the John Wick Spin-off series The Continental
Last year, news surfaced the franchise John Wick would be expanding to the TV realm with a spin-off series titled The Continental. New details have recently emerged about filming and a possible appearance by Keanu Reeves.
Let’s breakdown what we now about the new show!
Fans of the John Wick franchise went nuts when the spin-off series was announced over a year ago. The Continental will reportedly be prequel series about the assassin hotel featured in the film series.
In 2014, John Wick was released and quickly became a major hit, both critically and commercially. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 86% Fresh score and had grossed over $130 million worldwide on a budget of only $20 million. John Wick 2 was even more well received. It has an 89% Fresh score and grossed $158 million worldwide. John Wick 3: Parabellum is scheduled for release next year and director Chad Stahelski is reportedly returning.
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Starring Keanu Reeves as the titular character, the films are classified as neo-noir action movies and center around the ex-hitman John Wick. Stripped of everything that matters to him and forced to return to his past life, Wick checks into a hotel for assassins known as The Continental.
Few details have been officially revealed about the spin-off featuring the hotel, but enough has been gathered about the series to give us a glimpse into the project. Will Reeves make an appearance in the series? Maybe even Ian McShane? It’s not clear now, but let’s take a look at what we know so far about the series The Continental.
According to IndieWire, Stahelski will helm the first episode of The Continental and also produce the series with John Wick screenwriter Derek Kolstad. Chris Collins, who has written for Sons of Anarchy and The Wire, will pen the script for the series as well. Reeves will also be an executive producer.
This is a reassuring piece of information for fans of the franchise. Though Collins will be writing the spin-off, much of the original John Wick team will be involved with the project as well.
Last year, Starz released a synopsis of the series:
"“Collins expands the universe in the series by focusing on the Continental Hotel and those who find refuge under its roof. Set in a hyper-real version of Los Angeles, the series maintains the urgency of the action along with the dry humor from the John Wick movies.”"
The early synopsis will likely be subject to change because they have not started filming as of now. Additionally, Stahelski had this to say in an interview about their series:
"“They’ve got a really good structure. It’s very tied to the film [in that] it’s about the Continentals all over the world, how certain people come into that world, and what happens in relation to those people, which is cool. I think the world is very vast, and everything I’ve heard from it is very positive. […] It’s something that studio seems very, very intent on [making] and very, very behind.”"
The president of programming for Starz Carmi Zlotnick told Rotten Tomatoes that filming for the series should begin next year. He said he had seen the script for the first episode and a plan for the series.
The Continental itself has a large network around the world, so it gives the show runners a lot of options in terms of where to lead the series. Zlotnick suggested that the protagonist would be a brand new character that is unfamiliar to audiences. It will reportedly play like an origin story for this particular assassin, and the role isn’t cast at this moment.
Stahelski has also said that Keanu Reeves may make an appearance in the show if things go according to plan. Though the series will not be about Wick, he plans on incorporating him to some degree.
It would be an incredible moment for fans to see Reeves appear in the series, but Lionsgate could not confirm his role in the spin-off at this time. Interestingly, the president of programming for Starz Carmi Zlotnick told /Film that he would also like to see Ian McShane’s character Winston appear in the series. So, there is at least a chance that two on-screen favorites from the franchise will appear at least once in the series.
Important to fans is where the story for The Continental will fit in with the rest of the franchise. Starz President and CEO Chris Albrecht said that the series and the films will coexist. The series will not premiere until after John Wick 3 is released and if a fourth installment in the franchise is decided then the show will continue alongside it.
A release date has not yet been pinned down, but Zlotnick has said that he’d prefer to do an eight episode first season.
What do you think about the upcoming series? Will you be watching when it premieres? Let me know in the comments.