Ragesh Dipu
Starz has teased more details about the hotly-anticipated ‘John Wick‘ spinoff series ‘The Continental’ on Friday. The premium broadcaster also hinted that the show is unlikely to air until at least late 2021. “‘The Continental’ will be way earlier in the history of the series,” Starz COO Jeffrey Hirsch said during his executive session at the Television Critics Association press tour. “It will be a fresh look at The Continental as the hotel and how that came into the being of John Wick. It’s way back in terms of the timing,” according to TheWrap.
Lionsgate TV announced the project in 2017. But Starz kept mum about the whereabouts of the secretive project till date, while the project on papers went on to create quite buzz around as the launching vehicle for John Wick’s small-screen debut. According to various reports, the series will focus on the Continental hotel chain which harbors the world’s deadliest assassins. There are strict rules in place for the guests while their stay at the hotel which is neutral ground. The guests are not supposed to show off any of their murdering skills within the premises of the hotel! Those who break the rules will be reprimanded. The upcoming series is expected to explore the origin story as well as early days of the hotel chain.
“My sense is that where we are today, the movie date has been set but we’re still in early development on the series so [it will air] most likely after,” Jeffrey Hirsch is quoted by Deadline. He didn’t divulge anything more about Keanu Reeve’s involvement in the television project. When asked about Reeve’s titular character, Hirsch said, “That’s a really good question that I’m not going to answer. No answer is as good a tease you’re going to get.” He also added, “It’s a great franchise, we’re exciting about bringing that show to the network.”
Though the project is still under the hood, the announcement cleared the clouds when it confirmed that the fourth film in the ‘John Wick’ franchise won’t’ be affected by the television spinoff. ‘The Continental’ is most likely not going to be aired until ‘John Wick: Chapter 4,’ which is set to hit theatres in 2021. The series, which was picked up Starz in January 2018, is produced by Lionsgate TV. Chris Collins wrote the script and serves as showrunner.
Reeves executive produces the series along with Thunder Road Pictures’ Basil Iwanyk, Chad Stahelski, John Wick film franchise screenwriter Derek Kolstad, as well as Collins and David Leitch. Stahelski is set to direct the first episode for Starz. Carmi Zlotnik, who is the president of original programming, Starz, teased in January 2018 about Reeves’ possible cameo in the upcoming series. ‘The Continental’ landed at Starz after Lionsgate’s $4.4B take over of the broadcaster. (Cover Image Courtesy: Lionsgate)
