With spin-offs, prequels and TV adaptations much more commonplace in Hollywood right now, it seems an opportune time to revisit the long-planned John Wick spin-off about the supposed chain of luxury hotels known as The Continental. As per franchise lore, this fictional network acts as a sanctuary for various hitmen, assassins and crime lords with various amenities from on-site tailors and black market medical services to sommeliers who deal in weapons as often as they do in wine.
The three-part miniseries, aptly titled The Continental, will be an origin story of sorts for the John Wick universe rather than focus on the titular character’s roots. While details are still fairly scarce for the show, apart from the above gunshot-heavy teaser trailer, we do know that Mel Gibson (Braveheart) will have a starring role as Cormac alongside Colin Woodell (The Flight Attendant), Ayomide Adegun (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes), Katie McGrath (Jurassic World), Mishel Prada (Vida), Ben Robson (Vikings), Hubert Point-Du Jour (Dr. Death), Nhung Kate (The Housemade), Jessica Allain (Thriller), Jeremy Bobb (The Outsider) and Peter Greene (Doctor Who).
The series has been developed, written and executive produced by Greg Coolidge (Ride Along), Kirk Ward (The Island) and Shawn Simmons (Wayne) with Albert Hughes (The Book of Eli) and Charlotte Brandstrom (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) directing.
As detailed extensively in the mainline John Wick films, killing on Continental grounds is strictly forbidden, acting as somewhat of a safe zone for criminals but there has never been enough time between Wick’s murderous revenge path to dig deeper into why such a concept exists.
Streaming service Peacock, which will host the miniseries in September 2023, states that The Continental will explore the origin behind the hotel-for-assassins via 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.”
The Continental: From The World of John Wick premieres on Peacock in September 2023.
