‘John Wick’ TV Show Coming To Starz, Keanu Reeves Will Produce New Series
A new TV show set in the John Wick universe is coming to Starz. Titled The Continental, the upcoming series will center around the notorious assassin-friendly hotel featured in the films. However, fans looking for Keanu Reeves to reprise his role as the infamous John Wick won’t get to see much of him in action.
Reeves will likely make an appearance as John Wick on the TV show but will not star in the series. Most of his work will be done off camera as an executive producer of the Starz series. Also joining as executive producers on The Continental are John Wick co-director David Leitch and screenwriter Derek Kolstad.
The director of John Wick 2 and the upcoming third installment John Wick: Chapter 3, Chad Stahelski, will be in charge of The Continental’s pilot episode. Known for his work on Sons of Anarchy and The Wire, Chris Collins will act as showrunner and write the Starz series.
As reported by Rolling Stone, Starz and production company Lionsgate partnered on the John Wick TV series. Lionsgate, the parent company of the premium cable channel, distributed and owns the rights to John Wick.
Starz plans to bring a series that is something genuinely familiar to fans of John Wick but unmistakably different from anything else on TV.
“This series is truly unlike anything else on TV,” said Starz CEO Chris Albrecht. “The Continental promises to include the thunderous fight sequences and intensely staged shootouts between professional assassins and their targets that fans have come to expect in the John Wick movie franchise as well as introduce some new, darkly compelling characters who inhabit this underground world.”
In the John Wick films, British actor Ian McShane portrays Winston, the owner of The Continental hotel. Per a report from Entertainment Weekly, it has not been confirmed if McShane will appear on the TV show.
McShane is currently working on another series, American Gods. Yet, American Gods is also on the Starz network, so working both or transitioning from one to the other would not likely cause any contractual issues.
While Starz has yet to confirm an air date for The Continental, John Wick: Chapter 3 is expected to begin filming later this year. Hopefully, John Wick fans will have the Starz series to watch while waiting for the anticipated third installment of the film franchise to hit theaters.
