The upcoming John Wick prequel series The Continental has been moved to a 2023 premiere on streaming service Peacock, rather than on Starz as previously planned.
After the blockbuster success of Keanu Reeves' John Wick film series, including a staggering $327 million return for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, franchise owner Lionsgate decided to expand the series with several spinoffs. The first of these, a film titled Ballerina, stars Ana de Armas as a female assassin, and the other is the television series titled The Continental.
Originally, The Continental was planned to release on Lionsgate's own streaming platform Starz. However, the studio recently signed a deal to release the series instead on NBCUniversal's Peacock, which already has streaming rights for the first three John Wick films. Peacock president Kelly Campbell said in a statement, “The John Wick films have become a global phenomenon, are among the most watched titles on Peacock and we are thrilled and honored to partner with Lionsgate to extend this incredible franchise.” She went on to say that NBCUniversal's head of content acquisitions Val Boreland, who helped negotiate the deal, “knew that by bringing this special event series to Peacock and putting the full power of NBCUniversal behind it, the premiere of The Continental will be the streaming event of the year.”
The Continental takes its name from the Continental Hotel, a full-service hotel and membership club for hitmen and assassins, which features prominently in the John Wick films. The prequel television series is set in 1975 and shows how a young Winston Scott became the owner and manager of the hotel frequented by international criminals. It will be a limited series with three 90-minute episodes written by Greg Coolidge (Ride Along) and Kirk Ward (The Turkey Bowl) and directed by Albert Hughes (The Book of Eli) and Charlotte Brandstrom (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power).
Colin Woodell (The Purge TV series) plays a young Winston, while Ayomide Adegun (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) plays a young Charon, the hotel’s concierge in the film series. Actor and director Mel Gibson (Mad Max, Lethal Weapon) is set to star in the series, a decision that earned Lionsgate backlash because of the actor’s history of racist remarks and accusations of domestic violence. Gibson was blacklisted from Hollywood for many years, but his career began to recover after the success of his 2016 war film Hacksaw Ridge. Also appearing in the series are Peter Greene, Ben Robson, Hubert Point-Du Jour, Jessica Allain, Mishel Prada, and Nhung Kate.
The Continental will release on Peacock in 2023.
Source: NBCUniversal