Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: The Continental

  • ‘John Wick’ Prequel Series Finds New Home in Peacock

    ‘John Wick’ Prequel Series Finds New Home in Peacock

    NBCUniversal is slated to add another potential stalwart series to its young streaming service in Peacock. The Continental, which serves as a prequel series to the John Wick film franchise, is set to move from Lionsgate’s Starz to the NBCU streamer.

    This serves as a highly unconventional move in the streaming age in a developing property outright switching to a different distributor. It certainly is a large win for Peacock, who recently also acquired the film rights for Keanu Reeves-led John Wick. Meanwhile, this move is in line with the restructuring Starz has been in the process of recently focusing more on targeting female-demographic audiences.

    In an official statement about the acquisition, Peacock’s president Kelly Campbell spoke about the excitement of having the new series under the NBCU banner.

    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 (EVP and Head of Content Acquisitions for NBCUniversal) 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.

    Kelly Campbell

    In addition, Kevin Beggs, the Lionsgate Television Group Chair, equally shared excitement for the partnership between the two groups to expand the John Wick franchise.

    John Wick has become part of the cultural zeitgeist with a massive, passionately engaged fan base around the world. We’re delighted to partner with Peacock to continue expanding the John Wick Universe. This agreement reflects the collaboration of our Motion Picture Group, which has grown the franchise from the beginning and was excited by the opportunity to bring it to the next level, Jim Packer (President of Worldwide Television and Digital Distribution for Lionsgate) and his Worldwide Television Distribution team, which found the perfect home for The Continental, and the Lionsgate Television creative group, which created a brilliant and enduring property that is one of the most highly-anticipated streaming events of 2023.

    Kevin Beggs

    The Continental, which will follow the perspective of a young Winston Scott (played by Colin Woodell in the series, and previously portrayed by Ian McShane in the films) as he navigates the criminal-filled underbelly of 1970s New York City at the titular hotel. The series is slated to release in 2023. Meanwhile, the franchise’s next theatrical release John Wick: Chapter Four is scheduled to release in theaters in March of 2023.

    Source: Deadline 

  • John Wick Prequel ‘The Continental’ Adds 3 to Cast

    John Wick Prequel ‘The Continental’ Adds 3 to Cast

    The John Wick series has been a critical and commercial success, with a collective haul of $587 million and critics raving about the action and star Keanu Reeves‘ performance. As is the case in Hollywood, if a title is popular, it often leads to spinoffs and sequels. Not only is John Wick 4 happening, but the John Wick series is also getting a spinoff on the small screen.

    A spinoff focusing on the Continental, the famous Hotel for Assassins, was announced in 2018. Since then, news on the project has been rather sparse until last month when it was revealed Mel Gibson would star in the three-episode miniseries. Gibson will play a character named Cormac, who is notably not the younger Winston Scott (Ian McShane‘s character in the films) that the miniseries will follow. While we await the casting of our protagonist, we do have news today of three new roles that have been filled. 

    Thanks to Variety, we have learned that Peter Greene, Ayomide Adegun and Jeremy Bobb have joined the cast with the aforementioned Gibson. Greene will play Uncle Charlie, who is the younger version of the character as played David Patrick Kelley in the films. He’s a cleaner and a body man, as fans of the films know.

    Adegun will play the younger version of Lance Reddick‘s character Charon, who is the concierge of the Continental Hotel in the films. While Jeremy Bobb is joining the series as an original character named Mayhew. The 40 year old actor is best known for playing Herman Barrow in The Knick.

    The cast is starting to shape up, as we await news on who is filling the shoes of a young Ian McShane. We’ll have more as we learn more.

    Source: Variety

  • Mel Gibson To Star in ‘John Wick’ Spin-off ‘The Continental’

    Mel Gibson To Star in ‘John Wick’ Spin-off ‘The Continental’

    John Wick is one of those rare original IPs in the past 10 years to have actual longevity. What started as a return to form for star Keanu Reeves in 2014 is now a highly successful action franchise with content beyond the theatrical films. The Continental is one of those, a long-reported spinoff centering on the fabled hotel that houses assassins from the film. Deadline is reporting that that project is finally happening as a three-night special event TV with none other than Mel Gibson as its lead.

    The Continental will explore the origin behind the hotel-for-assassins, which increasingly has become the centerpiece of the John Wick universe. This will be accomplished through the eyes and actions of a young Winston Scott, who is dragged into the Hell-scape of a 1975 New York City to face a past he thought he’d left behind. Winston charts a deadly course through the New York’s mysterious underworld in a harrowing attempt to seize the iconic hotel, which serves as the meeting point for the world’s most dangerous criminals. No word yet on who’ll play Winston Scott (the hotel owner is played in the films by Ian McShane).

    Gibson has long been recognized for his work on iconic action films such as the Lethal Weapon franchise. No word yet on who Gibson is portraying other than his character name, Cormac. The Continental also marks Gibson’s first foray into TV in decades, having gotten his start on Australian television in the 70s.

    Source: Deadline

  • REPORT: ‘John Wick’ Spin-Off ‘The Continental’ To Feature Familiar Faces and Family Drama

    REPORT: ‘John Wick’ Spin-Off ‘The Continental’ To Feature Familiar Faces and Family Drama

    The Continental will finally enter production with director Albert Hughes on board. Instead of an ongoing series, it’ll be a three-episode event that explores the history of a young Winston at the iconic hotel of the John Wick series. There has been no casting yet, but the Illuminerdi may have gotten their hands on some details regarding the show’s cast. It confirms that young Winston won’t be alone, as Charon, the famous concierge of the Continental, also has a role in the series. Still, some other characters may hint at the overarching story.

    In a world full of hitmen, it isn’t too surprising that some new faces from the underworld will join the show. There’s mention of a Vietnam War veteran and his sister who run their father’s dojo and are gun runners. There’s also the mob boss Cormack. He will work closely with Winston’s brother, Frankie, and his Vietnamese wife, Yen. We’ll also meet Winston’s investor’s Mr. and Mrs. Davonport. There’s also the mention of the cleaner Charlie. He will act as a mentor for Winston and his brother.

    The big highlight is that the show will reveal a mysteriously dark past of Winston throughout the series run. As we never meet his family, their future might be part of it. There’s a hint that Frankie’s actions will put his brother and wife’s life at risk. So, it won’t be easy for him to leave the mob life. It’ll be curious to see if we get a brief glimpse or hint at John Wick’s past in the show. Outside of this Baba Yaga name, we know very little about his past. Perhaps Winston is keeping some secrets very close to the chest.

    Source: Illuminerdi, SlashFilm

  • ‘John Wick’ Prequel ‘The Continental’ Taking a ‘Sherlock’ Episode Structure Approach

    ‘John Wick’ Prequel ‘The Continental’ Taking a ‘Sherlock’ Episode Structure Approach

    It looks like we finally got some information on the long-awaited John Wick spin-off, The Continental. While story tidbits remain tightly under wraps, Hollywood Reporoters’ Heat Vision revealed that Albert Hughes, one half behind Menace II Society and The Book of Eli, will direct three episodes. The series will only consist of those three episodes, as they will get a movie budget and length. The article also confirms that it will be a limited series. So, we shouldn’t expect any future seasons.

    This reveal is quite interesting, as it is taking the same direction that the famous BBC Sherlock series did. It ran from 2010 until 2017, with each season consisting of three episodes that were individual cases loosely connected. Unlike Continental, it ran for four seasons and even had a special Christmas episode in 2016. The shortened episode count allows for some creative ways to tackle stories, and the spin-off will primarily act as a prequel to the Keanu Reeves’ led franchise.

    So, this could imply that the limited run will include three unique stories that might tie into the overarching world of this franchise. We did get glimpses into how the Continental hotels work through the films but probably only scratched the surface. There is a chance that Winston might be the focal point before he became the man we know from the films. Hopefully, we’ll get more hints at the story direction and how it connects to the John Wick franchise.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter, IMDb

  • First Plot Details for ‘John Wick’ Spin-Off ‘The Continental’ Revealed

    First Plot Details for ‘John Wick’ Spin-Off ‘The Continental’ Revealed

    Keanu Reeves returned to cinemas in style when he took on the role of John Wick. The character became a household name, and the franchise continues to expand. Lionsgate is developing a spin-off series that will focus on the mercenary hotspot, The Continental. In 2019, Ian McShane confirmed that he’s not returning as Winston. He’s the owner of the hotel chain, which made it a curious reveal. It made many questions about which approach they’ll take. Well, it looks like Lionsgate TV chairman Kevin Beggs finally offered some insight as the spin-off is a prequel.

    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. That’s the arena. I won’t give away more than that, but Starz really leaned into this take also, and they have been great collaborators. And how we’ve approached this first season is as three essentially 90-minute events, which you could construe as a limited series or a limited event series.

    It seems they had a variety of pitches before they decided they wanted to explore a 1970s New York City. Beggs also revealed that Reeves won’t appear in the series, but he will join the project as an executive producer. The backdrop and origin story of the iconic hotel does offer a unique direction. It looks like it might not run for multiple seasons but rather be a limited series built up similarly to Sherlock. It’ll be interesting to see how they expand the Wick-verse moving forward.

    Source: SlashFilm (McShane), SlashFilm (Prequel)