With that heart-stopping conclusion of John Wick: Chapter 4 still fresh in the minds of many a moviegoer, it seems as though we’ve reached the point of no return for the mainline franchise. If Baba Yaga can somehow get out of this particular mess for Chapter 5, our minds will never be blown that violently ever again.
For now, it’s as good a time as any to peek into the past of the John Wick world; one packed to the brim with rich stories about assassins and assassin associates. We know Ana de Armas is set to spearhead one such story in the Ballerina spin-off film, but there’s one other story on the way that hasn’t gotten quite as much attention; the upcoming prequel series The Continental.
In an interview with SlashFilm, franchise producer Erica Lee was all too happy to offer up a glimpse at what’s to come from, noting the time period difference and – more importantly – how the many morsels sprinkled throughout the films will evolve significantly in the show.
“The Continental is really cool. It’s a prequel, right? So it’s the birth of the Continental, it’s in the ’70s. So what we do a good job of in the Wick movies is just giving little tastes of backstory and little glimpses of what goes on in The Continental. So it’s a young Ian McShane and his rise into taking over The Continental. Winston is a character we give very little backstory on in our movies, so I think that audiences will be excited to see how that evolved.”
The series will follow a young Winston Scott’s rise to power at the titular hotel, which serves as one of many “safe zones” for assassins around the world in the John Wick franchise. Colin Woodell stars as the aforementioned proprietor-to-be alongside Mel Gibson, who’s set to portray a character named Cormac. Real-world events, such as the Winter of Discontent and the rise of the American Mafia, will have a role to play in the series as well.
The Continental will release to Peacock in late 2023.