Director Albert Hughes is making a reservation at The Continental, an upcoming event series set in the world of John Wick. Hughes, who co-directed Menace II Society and The Book of Eli, will helm two episodes of the three-part presentation. Originally, The Continental was intended to be a spinoff series but was reworked as a three-night event series with feature-length runtimes and a budget to match. Each installment will run for 90 minutes and, according to insiders, have a budget of $20 million. That number can be adjusted, of course, seeing as plans are still coming together.
Hughes will lend his skills to the first and third episodes in the series and will executive produce all three. The team has yet to find a director for the second chapter, though you can bet that hunt is on.
According to THR, The Continental is set 40 years before the events of the Wick series and focuses on a young man named Winston. He will one day grow up to be the character played by Ian McShane in the Wick movies but in the prequel’s story is a young man starting as a hitman hotelier who, along with others, create a haven for unsavory types, all set against a backdrop of 1970s New York.
Key members of the John Wick franchise are locked and loaded for the spinoff, including Basil Iwanyk of Thunder Road, original screenwriter Derek Kolstad, and franchise director Chad Stahelski executive producing. David Leitch is also attached as an executive producer, with Reeves in talks to assume a similar role.
In addition to co-directing Menace II Society, From HelI, and The Book of Eli with his brother Allen Hughes, Albert directed 2018's prehistoric adventure film Alpha. Hughes currently has multiple projects in the works, including The Fury of a Patient Man and North Hollywood.
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