John Wick TV Show: Keanu Reeves To Appear, Will Explore Continental World
Earlier this year, John Wick: Chapter Two director Chad Stahelski told us about plans for a John Wick television series. The show is continuing to gain support from Lionsgate. It'll explore the Continentals all over the world, hence why the show is currently called The Continental.
Below, Stahelski shares some new details on the John Wick TV show.
Stahelski told Indie Wire Keanu Reeves will appear as the titular assassin in the series. He won't be the star of the show, though. The series will feature different characters, like maybe the Continental's concierge or sommelier:
I like telling stories from my one character's perspective. Once you put that aside with the TV show, [you can] expand to all the different characters and follow them throughout their journey. 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.
The director expanded on the story a bit more:
They've got a really good structure. 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.
Stahleski is confident the series could capture the magic of the John Wick franchise's action. He cites Game of Thrones' "Battle of the Bastards" as an excellent example of the quality of action that TV can achieve:
Granted, they're the biggest budgeted show on TV right now, but could we do something interesting with John Wick with what we have? Yeah. I'd like to give it a go and prove to the TV world that you can have feature action on a TV show. It would be a nice little feather in my cap, sure
The filmmaker, who's not confirmed yet to direct John Wick: Chapter 3, would want to direct a couple of episodes of the series, which would maybe incorporate some "prequel ideas and impossible task ideas" previously mentioned. After John Wick had come out, Stahelski was working on another show that would've starred Reeves, Rain. He explained to Indie Wire it got put on hold after the success of John Wick, a hit that led to a franchise he didn't initially envision. After John Wick's story is over, maybe Reeves and Stahelski will get back to Rain.