Lionsgate and Starz are expanding the “John Wick” franchise with a three-part event series focused on a young Winston in New York City during the 1970s, and they’ve selected their main director for the project, “The Continental.”
The global hotel chain acts as neutral ground for assassins and offers various services to its clientele, some work-related and other things more relaxing. Hotel managers like Winston are important power brokers in their respective cities but still answer to The High Table, the mysterious group that controls this world of assassins. “The Continental” was once set to be a series, but now that’s obviously changed; a theme that keeps happening to this project, as it’s morphed and morphed over the years of its development.
Albert Hughes (“Menace II Society,” “The Good Lord Bird“) of The Hughes Brothers has been hired to direct two episodes out of three for Starz, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Hughes is no stranger to genre projects, from tackling the Alan Moore graphic novel “From Hell” about the Jack Ripper murders to the visually striking post-apocalyptic western “Book of Eli” starring Oscar-winners Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman.
However, it’s easy to assume Starz picked Albert Hughes for his 1995 film “Dead Presidents.” A period action movie that sees a group of high school kids sign up to serve in the Vietnam War during 1969 eventually leads to a suicidal heist. It’ll be interesting to see who they ultimately cast as the young Winston and if they’ll attempt to pursue more projects exploring the backstories of various characters.
“John Wick: Chapter 4” is also well into production over in Germany with returning actors such as Keanu Reeves as John Wick, Ian Mcshane as hotel manager Winston, Lance Reddick as the hotel’s concierge Charon, Laurence Fishburne as The Bowery King. The newest additions to the franchise are Hiroyuki Sanada, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Shamier Anderson, Rina Sawayama, Scott Adkins, and Marko Zaror.
It’s unclear when “The Continental” will be ready to air on Starz, but “John Wick 4” is targeting a release for May 27, 2022.