‘John Wick’ TV series will focus on the Continental hotel and the assassin underworld

The John Wick universe is interesting as fuck. A world filled with gold coins, seemingly endless assassins, and unspoken and spoken ethos. Half of the charm of this world, to me, is that the viewer is forced to piece it together without help from the movie. So while the idea of a John Wick spin-off show about this world interests me, it also concerns me. Do we really need explanations? Or is half the allure of the Universe its mystery?

AV Club:

Director Chad Stahelski recently teased the next installment of the John Wick franchise, explaining his plans to look at the “intricacies of the world” the hero assassin occupies, which runs on gold coins and murder. Now Indiewire is reporting that the John Wick television series that’s in the works will be doing more of the same. The series has been dubbed The Continental for now, after the chain of hotels where people who kill other people stay. “They’ve got a really good structure,” Stahelski tells Indiewire. “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.”

In fact, while Keanu Reeves’ character may hover around the periphery of the show—and even, according to Stahelski, “make an appearance“—he won‘t be the primary focus. Stahelski suggested others who could get screen time: “You can 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.”

It’s a cool concept that nevertheless could go the way of Gotham in relegating its biggest draw to the sidelines. However, we’ll be fully on board if Stahelski announces that this is being planned as a vehicle for Lance Reddick, who expertly plays the New York Continental’s discerning concierge. Bonus points if Ian McShane shows up, too.