The John Wick franchise starring Keanu Reeves blew the minds of the fans of the action genre right from the very first film. Producer Basil Iwanyk calls it an “accidental franchise” because no one could have predicted the franchise’s eventual success. Today, the John Wick movies stand amongst some of the most beautiful films to have come out of the genre.
Keanu Reeves in and as John Wick
And now, the franchise is ready for its new project, The Continental: From the World of John Wick. The drama miniseries will not star see Keanu Reeves’ John Wick and will instead focus on how Winston Scott came into position as the owner of The Continental chain of hotels. This role was played by actor Ian McShane in the films, who got on board thanks to a promise of spending Thanksgiving in New York.
Ian McShane Was One of the Last to Join Keanu Reeves
In an interview, producer Basil Iwanyk talked about the upcoming spinoff of the franchise and how Ian McShane’s character was always intriguing to him. He went on to recall how McShane was one of the last, “if not the last” actors to find a place in the ensemble. As per IGN, Iwanyk managed to get the Hellboy actor for the film as John Wick was shooting in New York during the Thanksgiving weekend.
The media outlet states that this meant the producer had given McShane and his wife a free trip for the Thanksgiving weekend. The actor would get to enjoy the holiday with his wife and do some work for the film. It was a win-win situation!
In the films, McShane plays the role of Winston Scott, the owner of the New York Continental Hotel. The hotel is a safe haven for assassins, which serves as a neutral territory where no business shall be conducted. Disturbing the rules of the hotel will result in penalties for the wrongdoer. After all, “Rules. Without them, we live with the animals” according to Winston.
How the Idea for The Continental Came to Being
A still from The Continental
In the interview, Iwanyk stated that he and the creative team had to sit through a “long period of development” and some uninteresting ideas before finding the golden egg. Amongst the discarded ideas was one which had a completely new story about a new Continental in a different city and a different concierge than Winston.
However, this and many other ideas were not enough to entice Iwanyk as he called them “John Wick-lite.” They needed something new, something fresh when they recalled Winston’s line in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, when he says, “I have served and been a beacon of order and stability to our industry for over 40 years.” And thus, the plot for The Continental was established.
Iwanyk stated,
“The writers came up with the idea of going, ‘hold on, he’s been in this hotel for 40-something years – that would lead us to 2000, assuming 1973 or 74.’ And we were like, ‘God, that’s really cool. What about that? Him getting a hold of this hotel in the ‘70s in New York where it was lawless and crazy and post-war and nuts. That’s a cool premise for a gangster movie and that’s a cool premise for a Wick series.’ That’s how we came to that.”
It’s a cool premise, indeed. However, the drama miniseries will not star McShane or Keanu Reeves for that matter. Instead, actor Colin Woodell will be playing a younger version of Winston. Woodell is known for his work in a number of popular projects including The Purge, The Flight Attendant, and The Originals.
While we will surely miss the Reeves-McShane duo in the miniseries, there is nothing to worry about. Both actors will be reprising their roles in another John Wick spinoff, Ballerina.