‘John Wick’ Prequel Series Coming to Peacock

The filmmakers behind John Wick have long teased a television series set in and around the Continental, the hotel that serves as a key location in all the movies as the base of operations for its world’s underground of assassins and hitmen. Now we’ve got concrete details about the show, including when it’s coming, where it will premiere, and the premise of the show, which turns out be a prequel set years before the John Wick movies.

Dubbed The Continental, the show is described as a “three-part special event” coming to Peacock in 2023. The show is written and run by Greg Coolidge and Kirk Ward; Albert Hughes directs the first and third episodes, while Charlotte Brandstrom directs the second.

Here is how the press release describes the show:

Told from the perspective of the hotel manager, a young Winston Scott (Colin Woodell, based on Ian McShane’s character in the films), is dragged through 1975 New York to face a past he thought he’d left behind. In an attempt to seize control of the iconic hotel, which serves as a meeting point for the world’s most dangerous criminals, Winston charts a deadly course through the mysterious underworld of New York City.

The cast also includes Ayomide Adegun, who plays the young version of Lance Reddick’s John Wick character Charon, as well as Ben Robson, Hubert Point-Du Jour, Jessica Allain, Mishel Prada, Nhung Kate, and Mel Gibson, who plays someone named Cormac.

Given that the show features younger actors playing the Ian McShane and Lance Reddick characters, it stands to reason that we won’t see John Wick on the show — or at least we won’t see him as played by Keanu Reeves. People joke about how Keanu basically hasn’t aged in 20 years, but even he probably couldn’t pull off playing John Wick from 40+ years ago. (In 1975, Keanu Reeves was 11.)

Though it’s coming next year, there’s no specific release date yet for The Continental. Meanwhile, John Wick: Chapter 4 will premiere in theaters on March 24, 2023.