What To Expect From Mel Gibson's Character In John Wick Prequel The Continental

With a $418 million worldwide gross, "John Wick: Chapter 4" confirmed that Keanu Reeves' action saga is a bonafide blockbuster franchise. But Lionsgate, the studio behind the Wick movies, has known this for some time. This is why the long-gestating spin-offs have been gestating for so long. We're getting the Ana De Armas-starring spin-off movie "Ballerina" in June 2024, and before that, a three-part prequel series entitled "The Continental."

And while it's taken considerable time for the latter to arrive, we're finally in the home stretch, with Peacock — the platform that will host the show — releasing a trailer in April 2023 that revealed "The Continental" would debut in September of this year. Set in 1970s New York, the series will focus on a young version of Ian McShane's Winston, this time played by Colin Woodell, as he vies for control of the Continental hotel — a refuge for assassins worldwide.

All of which sounds, great. But the excitement for this prequel series was dampened when the producers added Mel Gibson to the cast, prompting somewhat of a backlash, primarily due to Gibson's whole antisemitic debacle and his general penchant for making bigoted comments. Fans were understandably uncomfortable with this casting, to say the least. Alas, Gibson rides into "The Continental" on a wave of toxicity, and whether we like it or not, the former star is now a part of the "John Wick" mythos.

Perhaps shrewdly, Peacock chose to keep Gibson's character out of the trailer for "The Continental," leaving us to ponder how his character fits into the John Wick universe. And if you haven't been completely turned off by the fact this guy has been cast in the first place, you might consider reading on for our insights into what we can expect from Gibson's character.

Once one of Hollywood's biggest stars, Mel Gibson had a significant fall from grace that started with some truly terrible comments and ended with "Fatman." In other words, it's been a while since the former leading man has done anything with any prestige. Which makes his casting in "The Continental" all the more odd.

Just as mysterious as his casting is his character. In October 2021, Deadline reported that Gibson would "play a character named Cormac." Since then there's been little in the way of further details, perhaps to ensure his casting controversy didn't overshadow hype for "The Continental." Then, the trailer dropped sans Gibson. Which means overall, we knew very little about his character.

Now, Deadline has spoken to Albert Hughes, who actually directed two episodes of the upcoming prequel, and provided some significant info on the show, including more details on what the outlet called Gibson's "intense performance." Apparently, Cormac is the guy in charge of the titular hotel, and is described by Deadline as an "insecure and psychotic caretaker whose tenuous hold over the hotel causes him to do frightful things." So, a bad guy then. But Hughes provided more insight:

"With Mel, [showrunner Kirk Ward] and I decided he should be a little shabby on the edges. His organization skills aren't as tight as Winston's are later on. It feels a little cheap. Then I started coming up with my own motivations for the character, that was a cross between Joel Silver and Donald Trump. I would tell Mel little things along the way, but what I really told him was, 'Go big. Chew up the scenery if you want. 'John Wick' films do that.' He was like, 'Oh, really? Really? I can do that?'"

It seems Mel Gibson will be providing the antagonist to Colin Woodell's Winston as he tries to pry control of the hotel from Cormac. That's just me inferring from Albert Hughes' comments and what we know about "The Continental" telling the story of Winston's rise to power. And with Gibson playing a character that's designed as some sort of amalgamation of Joel Silver and Donald Trump, you might say the controversial actor is well cast, here.

And according to Hughes, that absolutely is the case. In his Deadline interview, the director went on to elaborate on Gibson's performance, "He's highly intelligent and he does these little minute brush strokes. By the end, it was exactly what I wanted it to be, and he did it in this very deliberate and artistic way." Exactly what that means remains unclear, but it sounds as if Gibson at least does a decent job of the role he's been given.

We'll have to wait until "The Continental" debuts in September to witness this "artistic" portrayal of a psychotic hotelier, as well as the numerous other assassins that have been cast. When the show does finally land, it will mark Gibson's return to TV after almost 20 years since his brief role in the 2004 ABC comedy "Complete Savage."

At least, as Hughes was quick to point out, "The Continental" will feature "powerful women of different ethnic backgrounds," if that's of any comfort to those outraged at Gibson's casting. While Cormac and the actor's portrayal certainly sound interesting, it might not be interesting enough to distract from the controversy.