The John Wick film franchise is set to expand with several upcoming spin-off projects. This includes the upcoming prequel miniseries titled The Continental. Now fans can get their first look at actor Mel Gibson and his role as a brand-new character in The Continental.
Of course, Mel Gibson has been the center of controversy in the past. And with that in mind, some fans are disappointed about his involvement in the upcoming John Wick spin-off. Nevertheless, the first look as shared via IGN, includes an explanation from executive producer Basil Iwanyk and executive producer/director Albert Hughes regarding Gibson’s involvement.
Firstly, Iwanyk insists that “no,” they didn’t hesitate casting Gibson, later adding that “there just simply wasn’t a consideration about it.” Hughes adds that Gibson simply fit the part that they needed him to fill:
“No. I think he fit the role, he fit what we needed based on his film past. And I’ll leave others to debate the other stuff because it’s not a black-and-white issue, and I don’t want to be sound-bited and clickbait. That’s a tricky game to get into. I have my own personal beliefs in life and whatnot about everything, but I’m here to entertain. And earlier in my career I wasn’t so careful. But there’s a weight that he brought, the stuff that he brought from his past roles and what he has done that we needed for this role. And I don’t think anybody could have fit better, let’s put it that way, just with his chops and his experience.”
As such, here’s our first look at Mel Gibson in The Continental:
The cast of the new series, which features Greg Coolidge and Kirk Ward as writers and showrunners, includes the following actors: Colin Woodell as Winston Scott, Ayomide Adegun as a young Charon, Peter Greene as Uncle Charlie, Mel Gibson as Cormac, Ben Robson as Frankie, Hubert Point-Du Jour as Miles, Jessica Allain as Lou, Mishel Prada as KD, and Nhung Kate as Yen. Actor Keanu Reeves, known for his titular role in the John Wick films, will not appear in the series.
Fans will be able to stream The Continental via Peacock in September 2023. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for additional updates on this highly-anticipated prequel series as we have them.