The “John Wick” motion movie franchise gets a prequel in “The Continental: From the World of John Wick.”
The three-episode show, premiering Sept. 22 (on Peacock within the U.S. and Prime Video internationally), tells the story of Winston Scott, who was played by Ian McShane in the flicks and by Colin Woodell as a young man “The Continental.”
“I used to be all the time a fan of the ‘John Wick’ movies, and what [the movie’s director, Chad [Stahelski] and [star Keanu Reeves] did,” director and executive producer Albert Hughes told The Post.
“I said, ‘Man, it looks like they’re having fun! I need to have a good time!’ You don’t want someone imitating Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski. You have already got that, and it’s done splendidly well. [The show is] in the identical world, but on a unique road.”
The film franchise -— which has grossed over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office and currently comprises 4 movies -— follows the titular character (Reeves), who’s a former hitman. The criminal underworld has quirks resembling The Continental, a sequence of hotels that’s a shelter and a neutral territory for assassins by which to remain (so long as they don’t do business there).
The mysterious Winston Scott runs The Continental on the large screen, and the concierge Charon (Lance Reddick) handles the reception.
Within the series, set in Nineteen Seventies Recent York, a young Winston Scott rises to power, surrounded by characters resembling his daredevil estranged older brother, Frankie (Ben Robson, “Animal Kingdom,”) enigmatic detective KD (Mishel Prada), and a young Charon (Ayomide Adegun).
The aging mobster Cormac (Mel Gibson) is one other distinguished character within the show.
Gibson has been a controversial figure — and mostly ignored in Hollywood — ever since his infamous anti Semitic comments in 2006 made him a virtual pariah.
Regarding why he’s within the show, Hughes said, “I forged [Mel Gibson] based on his past work that I grew up on,” Hughes said. “And I feel he fit the role perfectly. I feel once fans see it, they’ll understand why. The non-public stuff will not be my business to discuss.”
The films’ director, Stahelski, is an executive producer on “The Continental,” but Hughes said he was “supportive and respectful, and let me have my space.”
“I met with Chad, and he said, ‘Listed below are my influences: Hong Kong cinema, Bob Fosse movies, dancing, musicals.’ He does it like a ballet of bullets. And he was like, ‘What do you want?’ and it’s the sort of the ‘70s,” Hughes said. He cited “Taxi Driver,” “Midnight Cowboy,” “Saturday Night Fever” and “The French Connection” as influences on the show.
Hughes said Woodell “knocked him out” on the series. “He has that throwback sort of movie star quality. The camera loves him,” he said. “And he did appear to be a younger version of Ian McShane. But he’s not fully formed like McShane’s character within the movies. You’re not a rattlesnake yet. You’re a baby rattlesnake. Sometimes baby rattlesnakes are more dangerous, because they pump all of the venom into you, and leave themselves defenseless against prey.”
He added: “He’s still figuring his talent, his power, and how you can use it, as a young Winston.”
