Posted in: Current News, Movies, TV | Tagged: Chad Stahelksi, film, john wick, john wick 2, john wick 3, keeanu reeves, lionsgate, television, the continental, tv

'John Wick' Prequel Series 'The Continental' Offers Big Stories, Less Wick

People keep asking if John Wick is coming back, and I haven't really had an answer. But yeah, I'm thinking John Wick is back.

Lionsgate confirmed that they are currently developing a John Wick prequel series under the working title, The Continental. For those new to John Wick, The Continental is the chain of hotels around the world that provides a neutral ground for assassins where no "work" gets done on the premises and those who break the rules are "reprimanded" severely.  The series will expand and examine the larger world of John Wick that's only been touched-upon in the movies. For director Chad Stahelksi, the premise opens-up a ton of possibilities:

They've got a really good structure. It's very tied to the film [in that] it's about the Continentals all over the world, how certain people come into that world, and what happens in relation to those people, which is cool. I think the world is very vast, and everything I've heard from it is very positive. […] It's something that studio seems very, very intent on [making] and very, very behind.

With Keeanu Reeves' character the focus of the first two Wick films (and a planned third film), Stahelksi sees the television series as a wider sandbox for him to play-in from a storytelling standpoint:

I like telling stories from my one character's perspective. Once you put that aside with the TV show, [you can] expand to all the different characters and follow them throughout their journey. You can be with the consigliere, concierge, the sommelier — you can be with all these different characters and walk through the world in different aspects; ones that I'm a little limited [from exploring] by staying with my lead guy.

Stahelski work on John Wick 3 and other projects may limit his involvement with the series; and though not confirmed by Lionsgate, Stahelski indicated that Reeves might appear on the show.

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