The John Wick franchise continues with Peacock‘s The Continental, premiering September 2023, and the streamer has just released new photos from the season featuring stars Colin Woodell, Ayomide Adegun, Mel Gibson, and more.
A three-part event, The Continental takes viewers back to where John Wick began, focusing on a young Winston and Charon, characters made famous by Ian McShane and Lance Reddick in the films alongside Keanu Reeves‘ titular character.
The Continental will explore the origin behind the hotel-for-assassins centerpiece of the John Wick universe through the eyes and actions of a young Winston Scott (Woodell) as he’s dragged into the Hell-scape of 1970s New York City to face a past he thought he’d left behind. Winston charts a deadly course through the hotel’s mysterious underworld in a harrowing attempt to seize the hotel where he will eventually take his future throne.
The Continental cast stars Woodell as Scott, Adegun as Charon, Gibson as Cormac, Mishel Prada as K.D., Ben Robson as Frankie, Hubert Point-Du Jour as Miles, Nhung Kate as Yen, Jessica Allain as Lou, Jeremy Bobb as Mayhew, and Peter Greene as Uncle Charlie. The series was originally headed for Starz but moved to Peacock in August 2022.
Executive producer Basil Iwanyk explained why they chose the hotel for assassins as the series’ focus in a statement to fans.
John Wick “hit a chord that none of us anticipated,” he said. “Yes, people love Keanu. And the action was awesome. What we didn’t see coming was how much the audience loved the world, its rules, the swagger, the craziness, and the rogue’s gallery of villains and (kinda) good guys. All those roads led to one place, the epicenter and beating heart of the franchise: the hotel called The Continental, led by two of the franchise’s greatest characters, Winston and Charon.”
“The four Wick films take place over a 3 month span. John is either chasing, or being chased. There has been no time to take a breath, to allow the audience to dig deeper into the world and its denizens,” he went on. “In our show, The Continental, we finally have space to explore these characters, how they became who they are, and how The Continental became the epicenter of this world. Combine that with introducing new characters that are as compelling as any in the John Wick universe. Action that’s crazy cool and inventive. Easter eggs that will excite the hardcore Wick fans. And what I love the most: a vision of ‘70s New York that embodies the sexiness, edginess, and visceral style that the franchise is known for. This show will look/sound/smell cooler than any show out there.”
Executive producer, and director of Parts 1 and 3, Albert Hughes said they aimed to “honor the spirit of escapism and excitement from the film series while introducing new fans to a hyper-stylized world they’ve never seen before.” (Charlotte Brandstrom directs Part 2.)
“Together executive producer/writer Kirk Ward and I had several goals — to explore the backstories of familiar Wick characters, introduce new and exciting ones, dig deeper into the rules and mythology while expanding the physical scope of The Continental, showing fans areas of the iconic hotel they’ve never seen before,” he continued. “Kirk and I had the time of our lives creating this impressionistic spin on New York in the 70s. Even the soundtrack became a character in itself and reflects all that is American culture – a tapestry of distinct identities and experiences pieced together to create something truly unique.”
He also noted that “disco noir” was the mood they aimed to achieve. Get a glimpse into this new vision of John Wick in The Continental cast photos below.
The Continental, Series Premiere, September 2023, Peacock