The John Wick franchise is wildly popular in the movie space, and there’s obviously a hope it’ll have the same success in the television world. The Continental is coming to Peacock to tell the story of the hotel chain catering to assassins decades before the events of the movies unfolded. It sounds like an exciting premise so far, and it’s backed up by an equally exciting cast.
Along with The Continental bringing in some familiar characters central to the John Wick franchise, though not with the same actors we’ve seen in the films, there are also plenty of newcomers joining the action. Here’s a look at who’s appearing so far (Keanu Reeves won’t be joining), who they’re playing, and what to expect from them in this exciting project that will see two of its three 90-minute episodes directed by Albert Hughes.
Colin Woodell
Colin Woodell joins The Continental as an actor who's familiar with television shows of franchises that started on the big screen. He played Rick Betancourt in Season 1 of USA’s The Purge, and also had a role in HBO Max’s much-talked-about series The Flight Attendant. Now he’ll step into the shoes of one of John Wick’s most notable characters not named after the movie, Winston Scott.
Winston Scott, portrayed by Ian McShane in the movies, is the future owner of The Continental’s New York location, which is featured heavily in the John Wick film series. His loyalty to the code of assassins is unwavering, or at least that’s what we’re led to assume. This prequel series will show how Winston rose to prominence in a world of assassins, and likely explain how he came to own one of the most iconic meeting places for contract killers in the world.
Ayomide Adegun
The Continental will see some fresh blood from the acting world join the Peacock series, as The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama graduate Ayomide Adegun makes his acting debut. Adegun got one of the greatest roles to play in the John Wick franchise, as he’ll step into the role of one of the franchise’s most cryptic characters, Charon.
Charon (played by actor Lance Reddick, who is pictured above) is the concierge at the New York Continental hotel. He’s the guy getting things done for the patrons of the hotel, and occasionally, when the situation calls for it, he gets his hands dirty. It’s clear that Charon is skilled with weapons and combat, but fans know next to nothing about his character. The Continental is a perfect opportunity to pull back the curtain on him and give fans some answers on his origins.
Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson’s inclusion in The Continental was a shock to many people, particularly because he doesn’t do a lot of television. So it’s safe to say his casting wasn’t something on a lot of people’s radars, but considering the man's action resume, the John Wick franchise feels like a good fit for him. Gibson enters The Continental as Cormac. Cormac appears to be running the New York Continental at this point in and time and calls Winston to his office to give him a chance to save his brother Frankie before calling the rest of the hotel to go after him.
Peter Greene
Noted film and television actor Peter Greene comes into The Continental as one of the weirder characters of John Wick. Greene steps into the role of Uncle Charlie, another person we've already met in the film series. In John Wick, “Charlie” is a resident cleaner for assassins in the movie universe. Charlie is good at cleaning up bodies and appears to be a neutral person that’s willing to offer his services to any assassin willing to give him one gold coin per body. He’s never been anything less than pleasant in the movies, so I expect the same will apply in the Peacock series.
Katie McGrath
Supergirl actress Katie McGrath enters The Continental playing someone holding a position first introduced in John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum, The Adjudicator. Played by Asia Kate Dillon in the movie, The Adjudicator acts as a representative of The High Table. They're the one who ensures the masters of this organization’s will is done, and they doesn’t tolerate nonsense. It'll be interesting to see how McGrath's version of The Adjudicator differs from the one we previously met.
Jeremy Bobb
Jeremy Bobb comes into The Continental as Mayhew, an original character to the series. Bobb’s past roles include notable shows like The Outsider, Jessica Jones, and Russian Doll. As far as his role in the Peacock series, we don’t know anything about Mayhew. The trailer shows him snapping pictures, however, so maybe he's someone on the outside trying to expose the true purpose of The Continental.
Mark Musashi
Mark Musashi is an actor most known for his stunt work and is a trained martial artist. He’s worked on Fear The Walking Dead and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and now he’s bringing his talents to The Continental. He’ll play a High Table assassin alongside his partner Gretel, which seems to be a clear reference to the classic fairy tale brother and sister duo.
Marina Mazepa
Marina Mazepa has television experience, but perhaps not in the way that some might expect. She’s performed as a contortionist on America’s Got Talent, where she was a quarterfinalist in Season 14. Now she’s in The Continental as Gretel, a High Table assassin who works with Hansel. Between her contortion abilities and his martial arts, I’m expecting these two to be an interesting pair to watch.
Ray McKinnon
Sons of Anarchy and Mayans MC fans likely know Ray McKinnon, who cut his teeth as Lincoln Potter on both shows. Now he’s in The Continental as Jenkins, a new character with not a lot known about him. McKinnon is no strange to rough and tumble shows, so I’m guessing his character might be very much the same when the Peacock series premieres.
Adam Shapiro
Adam Shapiro, who was most recently seen in the Netflix series Never Have I Ever, enters The Continental as Lemmy. Like the rest of the new characters announced for the show, there’s not a lot said about his character. Based on the trailer, however, it does appear he'll align with Winston in his adventure, and be an ally throughout the series.
Hubert Point-Du Jour
Hubert Point-Du Jour comes into The Continental in the role of a character called Miles. The actor is most recently known for his roles in shows like Dr. Death, as well as The Good Lord Bird. Based on the trailer, Miles appears to be another ally of Winston in his mission to help his brother and is often in close proximity to Lou.
Jessica Allain
The Continental welcomes Jessica Allain, who may be a lesser-known actress now, but she’s got some big projects on the way. She’ll be playing Lou in the Peacock series, but audiences will also see her in the upcoming Netflix version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Lou is seen in the trailer aligning with Winston in his fight against The Continental, but her motivations for doing so at this time are unknown.
Mishel Prada
Mishel Prada enters The Continental as the character KD, who is new to the series. Though the character is new, Prada is no stranger to television. She's had stints on the television series Vida, and appeared as Hermosa Lodge in The CW's drama series Riverdale.
Nhung Kate
Nhung Kate is an actress from Vietnam who will join The Continental in the role of Yen. In addition to her roles in films like The Housemaid, she's also an amateur MMA fighter. Yen also appears to be an ally of Winston in the series, and it seems she has a bone to pick with Gretel based on their fight.
Ben Robson
Ben Robson is a name that fans of Vikings and TNT's Animal Kingdom should know well enough. He's now set to appear in The Continental, where he'll portray Frankie. As revealed in the trailer, Frankie is the brother of Winston and apparently landed himself in a lot of trouble after taking something of high value to Cormac. It seems he'll be what leads Winston into this world in the first place, but whether or not either of them knows what they're getting into remains to be seen.
The Continental is reportedly set to arrive on September 22nd for anyone with a Peacock subscription. It’s one of many new shows expected this year, and yet another adaptation of a film franchise that may further blur the lines between genres.
