Here’s everything we know about John Wick’s upcoming spinoff, The Continental, a prequel series that will begin streaming on Peacock this year.
John Wick’s rise in popularity certainly shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. Notably, a fourth film hit theaters earlier this year and raked in the series’ best box office numbers to date.
The powers that be carefully read the tea leaves, too, evidenced by two John Wick-branded spinoffs launching in the next year and change. One such project, The Continental, will take place decades before the events of the Keanu Reeves-starring blockbusters. Ballerina, a spinoff film starring Ana de Armas, will follow a female assassin who trained at the dance school featured in John Wick Chapter 3.
With The Continental scheduled for 2023, here’s a rundown of everything we know about the new miniseries.
The Continental release date: When is it out?
The three-part John Wick spinoff series is set to premiere on September 22, 2023 on Peacock.
The Continental cast: Who’s in it?
The Flight Attendant’s Colin Woodell will star as a younger version of Ian McShane’s character, Winston.
Other key cast members include Hunger Games’ Ayomide Adegun as a young Charon (played on film by the late Lance Reddick) and Peter Greene as disposal expert Charlie, whose older counterpart was portrayed by David Patrick Kelly.
The following will also round out the main cast of characters:
- Mel Gibson (Cormac)
- Hubert Point-Du Jour (Miles)
- Ben Robson (Frankie)
- Mishel Prada (KD)
- Nhung Kate (Yen)
- Jessica Allain (Lou)
The Continental: Is there a trailer?
Peacock has unleashed one trailer, thus far, which comes in the form of a 50-second teaser. This stylized first look sets the tone of the series, yet offers little else in the way of concrete details.
Still, it’s a teaser that fans may want to watch more than once:
The official trailer was released on August 9, and showcases the “new” look of the Continental for fans of the John Wick franchise.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
Most notably, though, this trailer gives us our first major look at the series villain, played by Mel Gibson. The decision to cast Gibson caused a great deal of controversy, but in this trailer Gibson got to shine as the villainous Cormac as he threatens a young Winston.
The Continental plot: What’s it about?
Peacock’s The Continental miniseries will explore 1970s New York City in the John Wick universe. Those who tune in can expect to learn about the origins of the eponymous, assassin-friendly hotel.
As per Peacock’s description of the show: “Told from the perspective of the hotel manager, a young Winston Scott (Colin Woodell, based on Ian McShane’s character in the films), is dragged through 1975 New York to face a past he thought he’d left behind.
“In an attempt to seize control of the iconic hotel, which serves as a meeting point for the world’s most dangerous criminals, Winston charts a deadly course through the mysterious underworld of New York City.”
“We definitely wanted to dig deeper into the characters, into the lore, into the world, into the mythology,” producer Basil Iwanyk told IGN. Though with the shift from blockbuster movie to television series, came a change in budget.
“You’re not going to have the budget that you would have on a huge tentpole film. So you have to be clever about how you pull off the scope and the scale of the action. My goal was actually to tone it down just a bit because we aren’t John Wick,” he says. “And don’t get into action fatigue because we are in multiple episodes and you have to delve into these characters and storylines, which in a two-hour movie, you have to keep it moving.”
If all proves successful, as the rest of the John Wick universe certainly has, the first batch of episodes could just be the start for The Continental, Iwanyk teased, already pondering of ideas set in the early 80’s.
“Who knows whether I’m going to be invited back or Kirk’s going to be? Who knows? But we just geek out over the ’80s, and we actually have a plan for what would happen in the ’80s. So that’s exciting.”
We’ll be sure to keep this article updated upon further announcements.
The Continental premieres on Peacock on September 22, 2023. In the meantime, check out our other John Wick coverage below:
Review | Is John Wick true? | Killa explained | Ranking the movies | Is there a post-credits scene? | Marquis explained | Ballerina cameo | How long is Chapter 4? | Caine explained | Potential Chapter 5 | What happens to Charon? | 13 Best John Wick kills | Post-credit scene explained | Does the dog die? | Keanu Reeves on emotional ending | Is Chapter 5 streaming? | Movies to watch if you like JW | Will there be a Chapter 5? | Ballerina spinoff