Starz Officially Developing ‘John Wick’ TV Series; Keanu Reeves To Appear

In an age where launching an original franchise — much less an entire cinematic universe — is incredibly difficult, John Wick is the little intellectual property that could: in the span of a mere four years, the movie has received a sequel, the announcements of a trilogy-capper and a planned spin-off entitled The Ballerina, a comic series, and a video game in development. Now, the franchise can add one more thing to that impressive list: a television series as Starz.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Starz has announced that they are developing a new series called The Continental, which is named after the assassination organization that the title anti-hero works for. The announcement came at the Television Critics Association, where Starz revealed that John Wick actor Keanu Reeves is expected to appear in the series, but not as the lead character. Chris Collins will write the script and will serve as a showrunner, while Chad Staheliski will direct the first episode.

The original John Wick was praised for its heavy emphasis on world-building with a world that was built around an economy of assassins, which was done in a way not to set up a bunch of sequels as many franchise-hopefuls are wont to do, but to flesh out the otherwise-simple narrative. Having a show set entirely around the hotel that houses many of these assassins seems like a great idea to explore this setting even further as this franchise expands over time.

John Wick and John Wick: Chapter 2 are available on home video. Keanu Reeves stars as the titular character in both films.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter