The much-teased John Wick spin-off series The Continental is still in the works, according to STARZ boss Jeffrey Hirsch.
The series was first teased in 2017, and last year was confirmed to be a prequel to the Keanu Reeves-starring movie series, with Hirsch revealing that the series will be set “way back in terms of timing of the movies.”
Giving a further update on the progress on the show at the Television Critics Association winter press event (via Bleeding Cool), Hirsch said: “I had a meeting on a season pitch for this yesterday. We like the group of writers, and we’re trying to get it in the right place so it doesn’t interfere with the motion picture. It will air sometime after the fourth movie.”
John Wick 4 airs on May 21, 2021, the same day that Reeves returns in The Matrix 4. Hirsch went on to discuss the speculation that Reeves could make an appearance in The Continental, saying: “That’s a really good question that I’m not going to answer. No answer is as good a tease you’re going to get. It’s a great franchise, we’re exciting about bringing that show to the network.”
The series will be directed by Chad Stahelski, and upon its original announcement, he spoke about the direction they want to take The Continental.
“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.”
NME‘s review of John Wick 3, which came out in 2019, called it “a brutal, blood-soaked sequel,” with Alex Flood adding: “Exhilarating and exhausting in equal measure, the third chapter in this bonkers franchise is undoubtedly its best.”
