Posted in: Movies, Peacock, TV | Tagged: john wick, the continental

John Wick: Chad Stahelski on What Went Wrong with "The Continental"

"John Wick" universe director/EP Chad Stahelski offered interesting insight into why Peacock's prequel series The Continental didn't work.

It's not like director and overseer Chad Stahelski's Keanu Reeves-starring "John Wick" universe lacks fan excitement and major global box office success. There's the spinoff film From the World of John Wick: Ballerina set to hit screens, rumblings of a fifth film in the main series, and talk of further expansion. So what went wrong with Peacock and Showrunner Robert Levine's Colin Woodell-starring The Continental? Stahelski offered some honest insight into why the prequel series failed to catch on with critics and viewers alike during a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

"Keanu [Reeves] and I were — I wouldn't say sidelined, but our opinion was heard and not really noted. [The studio] tried to convince me they knew what they were doing. A group of individuals thought they had the magic sauce. But if you take out Basil Iwanyk's producing intuitiveness, if you take out Keanu's way of delivering quirky dialogue, and if you take out all the visuals I have in my head from Wong Kar-wai, anime, Leone, Bernardo Bertucci, or Andrei Tchaikovsky … then it's not the same thing. They thought this was as easy as using anamorphic lenses, do a kooky hotel, put in weird dialogue, and insert crime drama," Stahelski shared.

"If you saw our process, you'd be like, 'You're telling me this billion-dollar franchise does it this way?'" the director continued, highlighting how they approach production on the films. "I'm scouting my next film in London, and we saw a cool location yesterday which totally changed the second act. We rewrote the whole thing. I find great cast members and rewrite their parts constantly. That's what makes [the movies] so good and organic — we're constantly upgrading. But the studio likes to know what they're getting for their buck and want to lock a script for budget reasons. While we're saying, 'Just write the check, we'll see you at the finish line.'"

Woodell was joined on Peacock's The Continental by Ayomide Adegun, who portrayed a young Charon (based on the late Lance Reddick's character); Peter Greene, who donned the fedora of Uncle Charlie (based on the tight-lipped body disposal expert); Mel Gibson, as Cormac; Ben Robson as Frankie; Hubert Point-Du Jour as Miles; Jessica Allain as Lou; Mishel Prada as KD; and Nhung Kate as Yen. The series was developed, written, and executive produced by Greg Coolidge, Kirk Ward & Shawn Simmons. Albert Hughes (Parts 1 & 3) and Charlotte Brandstrom directed the three chapters, with Hughes also executive producing. In addition, Thunder Road Pictures' Basil Iwanyk & Erica Lee, as well as Chad Stahelski, Derek Kolstad, David Leitch, Paul Wernick, Rhett Reese, and Marshall Persinger, also executive produced the Lionsgate limited series.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!