‘The Continental’ EPs on “Terrifying” Undertaking of a ‘John Wick’ Spinoff Without Keanu Reeves
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While promoting Peacock’s John Wick spinoff series The Continental: From the World of John Wick, executive producer Basil Iwanyk acknowledges the elephant in the room: How does one explore the John Wick universe without the eponymous star — played by Keanu Reeves — himself?
“It’s hard to look at: OK, why does a movie or franchise work?” Iwanyk, who’s worked on the entire John Wick franchise, told The Hollywood Reporter at a recent press junket. “There’s a million different ways to look at it, and you just really don’t know. Of course, there’s research and bullshit, but it’s something in your gut. This is a prequel in the ’70s that doesn’t have Keanu and John Wick in it. Will it work?”
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“It was about the franchise and the health of the franchise and what attracts people to the franchise, as [much as] it was [about] telling a great story,” he continued. “We’re just kind of going and going and going and there isn’t that much time for self reflection of ‘Why is this working?’… We’re like, let’s just go forward and do things that we think are cool, and hopefully people agree. This show was the first time where we were going out of our comfort zone. And that was invigorating and exciting, but terrifying.”
Directed by Albert Hughes, The Continental is a prequel to the John Wick films that takes place in 1970s New York City. The show will have three parts, exploring the origin behind the iconic hotel-for-assassins. Following young hotel proprietor Winston Scott (played by Ian McShane in the franchise films and Colin Woodell in the series), The Continental dives into how Winston would ultimately seize the hotel to take his place at the helm of the hit man sanctuary. The series also stars Mel Gibson, Mishel Prada and Ben Robson.
“The show has far exceeded my expectations,” says executive producer Erica Lee, who also worked on the first John Wick film. “Whenever you’re making anything, I always say the ingredients can be great, but the cake can still taste like shit, right?”, adding, “We were really lucky with Albert at the helm. He has a very distinctive vision and also came in as a fan of the movies and loves certain aspects of it, but also wanted to push certain thematics and things his own way.”
When Hughes first got the job, he didn’t hesitate to start conversations with John Wick director Chad Stahelski. “We did a Zoom and he was excited to talk and tell me [to] basically do what you need to do that inspires you,” Hughes says of his early discussions with the director, who told him to do his own thing. “I was happy he said it because I don’t think I would ever want to go into any man or woman’s sandbox and duplicate what they do.”
And amid the double strike, below-the-line talent are taking center stage on Hollywood PR campaigns, as studios are forced to get creative without actors and writers. One week before the show’s premiere, reporters and influencers were invited to The Hollywood Roosevelt hotel for a day of assassin training, featuring a behind-the-scenes look at The Continental’s stunts, sound, costume and production design. Hughes calls the event “refreshing to see” from Peacock.
At the interactive-style junket, action director Larnell Stovall picked out volunteers from the audience to learn a brief stunt sequence, while standing on a live set inspired by the show. “We don’t normally get interviewed,” says Stovall about the unique event. “We get a shout out from the actors maybe every now and then… but that’s what we signed up for.” The stunt expert hopes that this kind of exposure for below-the-line work will inspire others interested in the field.
There was also a costume tour from designer Sarah Arthur, along with a panel with Iwanyk and Lee. Supervising sound editor Luke Gibleon gave a demonstration on how the sound team enhances the immersive quality of an action scene. “People in my field — we do often feel like we’re unseen and unheard,” says Gibleon. “This is an opportunity to help hopefully paint a picture of what we do that maybe hasn’t been shared before.
“It’s like a silver lining,” adds Hughes. “It’s so wonderful to see these people get their due.”
The Continental: From the World of John Wick premieres Friday on Peacock.
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