With screen icon Keanu Reeves at the helm, the John Wick action movie franchise has earned in excess of $1 billion at the box office.
Across four films, the neo-noir aesthetic, the visceral action sequences and Reeves’ inimitable charisma have garnered millions of fans worldwide, which is why Amazon Prime Video’s spin-off series, The Continental, is so hotly anticipated.
During the development of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum in 2017, franchise creator Derek Kolstad and director Chad Stahelski were also hatching ideas for a prequel tale, which they quickly realised would be best told as a TV series.
But in which direction should the spin-off go? What aspect of the John Wick universe was worthy of a deeper examination?
The obvious choice would’ve been an origin story for a character, ideally Wick himself, but instead Kolstad and Stahelski rewound the clock much further to unpack the beginnings of the franchise’s centrepiece, the hotel for assassins known as The Continental.
It’s a fascinating choice, because it allowed the series to use the lawlessness and music of 1970s New York as a backdrop, and build the three-episode narrative around a character that fans are very familiar with — Winston Scott.
Played by Ian McShane in the movies, Scott is the manager of The Continental, and a significant ally of Wick’s, but the series finds him much younger and trying to find his way in the (under)world.
This younger version of the character is played by Colin Woodell, best known for his role in The Purge TV spin-off, and we get to see the events that lead to him assuming control of the hotel.
These events revolve around the actions of his brother, Frankie (Ben Robson), and the ensuing friction it creates with their adopted dad, Cormac (Mel Gibson), the current proprietor of The Continental.
Woodell admits he wasn’t initially one of the franchise’s many fans, but, in a way, that was beneficial when it came to building young Winston.
“I think because I hadn’t watched the films at first, and because I hadn’t seen what (McShane) was doing, I just brought myself to it,” Woodell says.
“And then, after getting the offer and discussing the project, I watched all three films in a 24-hour span, which was a lot, but it was also super informative to see what (McShane) was doing and to pick up on his little nuances.”
For filmmaker Albert Hughes (The Book of Eli), who directs the first and third episodes, The Continental was a chance to celebrate the existing John Wick universe, and add depth to it.
But he acknowledges it wasn’t the easiest task in the world.
“I don’t have Keanu Reeves,” Hughes laughs. “I can’t wallow in a 20-minute action set piece, because I don’t have a two-and-a-half hour movie.
“But I don’t know that I wanted that luxury, because I come from the Sergio Leone school of violence or action, which is it’s more about the build-up and a quick payoff.”