The overwhelming critical and commercial success of “John Wick: Chapter 4” made it clear that this Lionsgate action franchise is here to stay. While there is no confirmed timeline for the previously announced “John Wick 5,” Keanu Reeves is set to reprise his role in the Ana de Armas-helmed “Ballerina” prequel. But this isn’t the only “John Wick” brand extension Lionsgate has planned.
This year, a three-episode prequel series called “The Continental” will debut on the Peacock. The show promises to delve into the history of the eponymous hotel chain that caters to international assassins. In a new interview with him CollisionFranchise producer Erica Lee opened up about how the show plans to expand the “John Wick” mythology.
“It’s young Winston and young Lance Reddick, young Charon,” Lee said of the series, which stars Colin Woodell and Ayomide Adegun as young versions of the characters played by Ian McShane and Reddick. “The showrunners actually came and we heard a lot of talk and debated whether we wanted to do a John Wick-like timeline or a different timeline. We felt like we were doing a prequel, an alternate timeline, which gave us a lot of flexibility to run parallel tracks. But also what I think people love so much about John Wick and John Wick‘ the world learns about hotels and easter eggs. We give away so little about the characters and the hotel in each movie that I think people were really excited to learn more and dig deeper into The Continental, like what does the cleaning lady look like? What is the staff like? How do you get into The Continental? How are gold coins made? So with this timeline and this setting, we can really dive into that and explore a lot.”
Lee said the show will have a slightly slower pace than the “John Wick” films, but will still feature the franchise’s trademark action sequences.
“I think in TV it’s usually more character-based, but there’s a lot of action in the shows,” he said. “I mean, we’re starting with an action sequence in One. I think it’s a good balance. One and Three have a huge amount of action. The two are a bit more of a story. Structurally, it seems to break out, but there is plenty of action.”
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