The Continental, a spin-off series based on the popular John Wick film franchise, made its debut on Peacock in September 2022. The series follows a young Winston Scott, played by Colin Woodell, in 1970s New York City, depicting the origins of The Continental hotel which features prominently across the John Wick movies. Ian McShane plays an older version of Winston, the owner of The Continental, in the Keanu Reeves-led action films. However, McShane does not appear in the Peacock prequel series.
In a recent interview with MovieWeb to promote his new film American Star, Ian McShane shared his blunt thoughts on The Continental spin-off, calling it a “cash grab.”
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“No, I wouldn’t watch it. I have no intentions – nobody – I don’t think Keanu watched it, neither has Chad. It had nothing to do with our movies. It’s just a question of a TV company cashing in on the series and taking the option to [air?]. They never asked us about anything so why would I be interested in seeing it? I’m afraid their arrogance in getting the show out is beyond me so I wish them well. I think it’s come and gone, hasn’t it?”
The series ended its first season run on Peacock on October 6, 2022, receiving mixed reviews from critics and audiences. On Rotten Tomatoes, The Continental earned a 63% critic score and a 78% audience score, compared to the 94% critic score and 93% audience score for the latest John Wick outing, John Wick: Chapter 4.
The Continental won’t be the only John Wick spin-off for audiences. The upcoming film Ballerina, set for release in 2024, will focus on a young female assassin played by Ana de Armas. Major controversy happened when it was revealed that the film was undergoing a year’s worth of reshoots to, possibly, maintain the quality of the previous outings.
McShane discussed the upcoming Ballerina and answered questions regarding the John Wick universe during a recent appearance on BBC’s The One. Although McShane acknowledged that reshoots were taking place, he referred to them as “new shoots” because he was trying to “protect the franchise.”
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“It’s not reshoots, its new shoots,” McShane said. “The new shooting for Ballerina, which is the spinoff with Ana de Armas of the John Wick franchise . . . you know, it’s like, they’ve got to protect the franchise.”
In order to make the project “better,” McShane also revealed that Chad Stahelski, the director of the first four John Wick movies, had stepped in.
“It was about a year ago that we did the movie Ballerina,” said McShane. “They’ve looked at it, and Chad’s come in, the guy who directed all the John Wick movies, and they want to make it better. Keanu’s in it as well. It takes place between John Wick 3 and John Wick 4.”
Appearances from franchise stars Ian McShane, Keanu Reeves and Anjelica Huston are expected to reprise their roles.
Although the producers and studio have acknowledged that they are working on John Wick 5, it appears to be in its very early stages. Producer of John Wick Basil Iwanyk said back in June that they’re still working out the specifics of what that story could be after John Wick: Chapter 4’s events.
“I think there’s no question that it’s in development, but the story isn’t there yet. Furthermore, it isn’t until the story is there… It’s true about something we’re attempting to solve. However, we still haven’t decided on the appearance or tone of the film.”
In his new film, American Star, Ian McShane steps into an action thriller role alongside co-stars Thomas Kretschmann, Nora Arnezeder, and Adam Nagaitais. McShane plays an assassin on one final job in Fuerteventura, tasked with killing a man he’s never met. Things quickly go awry, leading the assassin to connect with the local island community. Directed by Gonzalo López-Gallego and written by Nacho Faerna, American Star aims to be a character-focused thriller for McShane. The film hits theaters on January 26, 2023.
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