The Continental Casts Younger Version Of Lance Reddick's John Wick Regular And More
When the first "John Wick" burst onto the scene in 2014, action junkies were immediately drawn to its distinctive world-building and the "rules" of the Continental that even the most cold-blooded killers adhered to. Countless movies since then have tried and failed to replicate that intangible balance of atmosphere and aesthetics, but none — not even the franchise's own sequels, in my opinion — have managed to live up to that original film. That's why I have so many questions about "The Continental," the (very) limited series that is set to dive into the origins of the assassin's guild that controls so much of Wick's underground world in the films. We've known that it will star a younger version of Ian McShane's character in the movies, with talented actor Colin Woodell cast for that coveted role.
The latest batch of castings for the series has recently come in, with confirmation of another two younger versions of returning characters from the world of the films.
'Enjoy Your Stay...'
We're all familiar with the currently-unfolding story of John Wick fighting back against the secret society of assassins that had him in their employ before the events of the first film. Because audiences responded so well to that, it was only a matter of time before the bean-counters sought to remove all that mystique entirely and dedicate a whole series to the origins of that aforementioned secret society. I kid (mostly), but can you blame me for being at least somewhat cynical about this trend of content-mining every ounce of mythology and world-building from original works to support endless spin-offs with varying degrees of diminishing returns? Sometimes less is more, people!
Now that I've hopped off my soapbox, let's focus on why you're here in the first place. According to Variety, the trio of Ayomide Adegun, Peter Greene, and Jeremy Bobb have been added to the ranks of "The Continental." Reportedly, Adegun is set to play a much younger Charon, the desk clerk for the Continental brought to life so vividly by Lance Reddick in the films. Greene (known for appearances in "Pulp Fiction," "The Mask," and "The Bounty Hunter") will play another returning character named Uncle Charlie, the "cleaner" of dead bodies and crime scenes who shows up to do his efficient dirty work after the first extended fight scene at Wick's house in the original film (portrayed by David Patrick Kelly). Meanwhile, Bobb ("The Knick," "Russian Doll") will play an original character in this series known only as Mayhew. I would refer to this overall cast as "promising" but, well, that would be ignoring the anti-Semitic elephant in the room.
Greg Coolidge and Kirk Ward are attached to this three-episode miniseries as writers and showrunners with much of the original crew behind the films credited as executive producers. "John Wick 4" will be in theaters on May 27, 2022 and we can expect "The Continental" to air on Starz sometime after.