The first actor to join the cast of the John Wick prequel is Mel Gibson, whom you might recognize from Mad Max, Braveheart, or his history with anti-Semitic, sexist, and racist comments. According to Deadline, Gibson is set to star in The Continental, which takes place 40 years before the original film franchise starring Keanu Reeves. Gibson’s character will be called Cormac, and it’s not clear yet what role he’ll have in the story. What we do know so far is that this origin story will be told through the POV of a young Winston Scott, who is “dragged into the Hell-scape of a 1975 New York City to face a past he thought he’d left behind.†Scott charts a deadly path as he attempts to seize the iconic hotel of assassins that features in the films.
Lionsgate Television will produce the prequel as a three-night special-event TV series for Starz. Greg Coolidge (Wayne, Ride Along) and Kirk Ward (Wayne) will serve as showrunners, and are also set to write and executive-produce. Ian McShane, who played Scott in the films, reportedly might do a voice-over but will not be making an appearance in the series. Per Lionsgate, Reeves is not likely to show up, either, though he is considering coming onboard as an executive producer of the project. Currently, Reeves is reprising his role as the titular hit man in John Wick: Chapter Four, which is shooting in Germany, France, and Japan.