Peacock’s The Continental Expands The John Wick Franchise In A Method The Motion pictures Cannot

Whereas the 4 John Wick motion pictures might inform an entire story of the murderer performed by Keanu Reeves (till they resolve to make one other movie, after all), there’s a lot in regards to the world he operates in to discover. That is the place The Continental: From The World of John Wick is available in. The three-part streaming miniseries debuts Friday on Peacock, with two extra installments on the subsequent two Fridays.

Whereas The Continental does not truly function Wick, it is one thing of an origin story for the movie franchise. It tells how Winston, performed by Ian McShane within the movies, got here to be accountable for the assassin-infested Continental lodge within the Nineteen Seventies. By exploring not solely his backstory however that of his most trusted worker within the movies, Lance Reddick’s Charon, a lot extra context is given to the franchise–as nicely as dose of ’70s-flavored historical past, from the music and trend to the tradition awakening.

“You simply get excited, as a result of culturally what was occurring [in New York City at that time]? You had Studio 54, you had the sanitation strikes, you had the life and taste, the sounds, the smells, the tradition,” Albert Hughes, who directed the primary and third episodes, instructed GameSpot. “It is one of many few cities on the earth the place you may say, ‘I do not know another metropolis with that many cultures packed in like that, the place you haven’t any selection however to combine with different individuals. And it is the promise of the premise of America is what that metropolis is.”

And with three 90-minute installments to discover that world, the crew behind The Continental was primarily given a trilogy of movies to inform this one specific story, making room for the type of character improvement that usually would not attain too far past the first stars of a single film.

“You haven’t any selection however to introduce new characters outdoors of Winston and Charon–and reveal extra mythology, thriller, [and] guidelines,” Hughes defined. “And the beauty of the movie collection is they do not give the viewers all of the solutions. They are often fairly obscure. There might not even be logic to some of these things. And the viewers type of places all of it collectively themselves and have their very own fan theories.”

And now, with The Continental, those self same theorizing followers could have much more to debate as they work out the complete timeline of this iconic lodge from the movies. It isn’t simply the character improvement that stands out as totally different from the films, although. As Hughes factors out, the present additionally has a really totally different humorousness.

In any case, the John Wick motion pictures are sometimes very humorous. Nonetheless, the comedy is usually discovered within the motion beats. Whereas there nonetheless is a few of that in The Continental, having the room to flesh out character and story results in extra dialogue than you may anticipate in a John Wick story. It is there, although, that Hughes and the Continental crew discovered their laughs.

“The TV collection differs a little bit bit as a result of a few of the humor is extra verbal,” he famous, whereas additionally declaring the essential function music performs within the collection. It is onerous to understate the significance of the present’s soundtrack, given it is crammed with the kind of ’70s needle drops that slot in completely nicely on this older and grungier model of New York Metropolis.

It goes a good distance in serving to viewers lose themselves within the retro look of the collection, which stands in sharp distinction to the vaguely futuristic aesthetic of the John Wick movies. Count on fewer neon lights and cell telephones, extra boxy, older vehicles and glorious classic trend.

Don’t fret, although. The present continues to be titled The Continental: From the World of John Wick and nonetheless has the type of motion set-pieces you anticipate from the movies. It is simply not as chaotic a experience, with a preventing sequence being instantly adopted by 5 extra fights. It is a welcome change earlier than, assumedly, the Ballerina spin-off movie debuts subsequent yr, bringing the world of Wick again to the large display screen.

The Continental airs Fridays on Peacock.