TheJohn WickTV series is happening, people. While we heard a while ago that Lionsgatewas developing a TV adaptationof the popularKeanu Reevesaction franchise, titledThe Continental, Starz made it official today that it will be the network home of the in-development series. The fit makes perfect sense as Starz has a bit of a genre bent with its original programming, from hits likeOutlanderandBlack Sailsto the upcoming spy seriesCounterpoint.
The Continentalwill be set in theJohn Wickuniverse, focusing on the inner workings of the exclusive Continental Hotel, which serves as a refuge for assassins.Chris Collins, whose resume runs fromThe WiretoMan in the High Castle, will write the series and serve as showrunner.Basil Iwanyk,John Wickco-director andJohn Wick: Chapter 2directorChad Stahelski, franchise screenwriterDerek Kolstad,John Wickco-directorDavid Leitch, Reeves, and Collins will serve as executive producers.
Starz’s president made clear that the show and the movies will exist “side-by-side,” so the existence ofThe Continentaldoesn’t preclude moreJohn Wickmovies and vice versa.
Stahelski, who directed the upcomingDeadpool 2, will direct the premiere episode ofThe Continental, and he previously teased the possibilities that the TV series would provide:
“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… you may 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 also previously said he thought Reeves might make a cameo in the show, which would make sense given thatJohn Wick: Chapter 3is already in the works. Moreover, the show aims to include “thunderous fight sequences and intensely staged shootouts between professional assassins and their targets,” so this will 100% be an action TV series.
No premiere date has been announced but production on the show will likely get underway at some point this year for a debut in 2019 or so.
