In an interview with Deadline, Lionsgate TV chairman Kevin Beggs offered up information about a few upcoming properties that people can look forward to including The Continental, a series set in the John Wick universe.
It’ll take place in the 1970s – so John Wick won’t be making an appearance – but according to Beggs, John Wick actor Keanu Reeves is in talks to executive produce.
John Wick TV Series The Continental Will Feature a Young Winston
Continental Concept Art Photo Credit: Alex Nice on Artstation
The John Wick TV series spinoff The Continental will focus on the hotel that serves as a prominent location in the John Wick series along with a young Winston (played in the films by Ian McShane). It’s noted that Ian McShane won’t appear in The Continental but “could do voice-over work” according to Lionsgate TV chairman Kevin Beggs.
“The Continental which is famously within the movie franchise the assassin’s hotel in which you cannot kill anyone on the hotel grounds, but of course if you step one foot off you’re fair game, and that’s employed to great effect in many of the plots in the movies. Running all of that is Winston, who is played by Ian McShane (in the movies),” Beggs explains in an interview with Deadline.
“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.”
Beggs went on to touch upon how The Continental will be presented, with the first season being “three essentially 90-minute events which you could construe as a limited series or limited event series.”
Being set so far in the past, John Wick won’t appear in The Continental but that doesn’t mean the man behind the iconic character won’t take part in the series as it’s teased that Keanu Reeves is in talks to executive produce.
“Keanu is in talks to executive produce. Because we’re way back in time, way back pre-John Wick and even pre-young John Wick, that character is not finding his way into the universe.
We are in the John Wick universe, but it’s way back in time. Think about the Game of Thrones prequels before you know any of the players, but you do know the world.
But Keanu and Chad have read every draft and been enthusiastic supporters of expanding this universe in a meaningful way. So, I never rule out anything, but at this point he’s pretty busy making his movies which are very important to us.”
Speaking of which, John Wick: Chapter 4 and John Wick: Chapter 5 will reportedly be filmed back-to-back this year with John Wick: Chapter 4 hitting theaters on May 27, 2022. So, if you’re more interested in following the main John Wick story in the films, there’s plenty to look forward to in 2022!
All in all, The Continental sounds like it’s shaping up to be an interesting addition to the John Wick franchise by expanding upon The Continental itself and McShane’s character Winston. We’re curious to see who’ll play the younger version of Winston, and what sort of characters young Winston will encounter.
We’re curious if you are as well. On our social media channels including Facebook and Twitter, be sure to share your thoughts and predictions about The Continental!
For more on The Continental and other Lionsgate properties, be sure to read through the full interview Kevin Beggs did with Deadline. You can also prepare yourself for the series by checking out a stellar video from Looper on things you may not know about The Continental hotel (embedded below).
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