We’ve known for a while now that the John Wick franchise will be getting a spin-off TV series, last hearing any updates well over a year ago.
I already know what you’re thinking: ‘If we’ve known for quite some time, why are you bothering to even write this article?’ Well, that’s where the update part comes into the equation.
The Continental TV series will be set in and around the hotel chain which provides a safe haven for assassins in the films, has been confirmed as a prequel to the action film franchise.
For those hardcore John Wick fans of you out there, you might have already guessed that The Continental would be a prequel. You might have, but that would have been all it was – a guess.
Now, the CEO of Starz, Jeffrey Hirsch, has confirmed this theory by telling /Film at the Television Critics Association the Continental TV series will be set ‘way earlier in the history of the series’.
Hirsch went on to say:
So it’ll 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 movies.
When asked how far back – because obviously we need to know ASAP – Hirsch simply said that information would be ‘too much to give away’ at this moment in time. Fair enough.
One conflicting factor to The Continental being a prequel is the fact Starz has already confirmed Keanu Reeves intends to appear in the series. Which, unless time travel has been invented by the time it’s filmed, implies the show can’t be set too far in the past.
When asked how far back the series could really go with this in mind, Hirsch said:
That’s a really good question that I’m not going to answer. No answer is as good a tease as you’re going to get.
Even if we don’t know those precise details, at least we know that a new assassin will be introduced in the world of The Continental – although the series isn’t expected to air until we see John Wick 4.
Hirsch explained this is because the John Wick 4 release date has already been set (May 21, 2021 – you’re welcome), whereas the Continental TV series is still in ‘early development’ so it makes sense to release it after the film comes out.
Which means we’ve got at least two years to wait until we find out, in TV form, the true history of the hotel which has come to mean so much to Wick and his fellow assassins over the years.
Sigh.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).