The upcoming Starz limited-series The Continental, about the hitman hotel as seen in the John Wick movies, has booked its first big name.
Mel Gibson has joined the cast of the series, ABC Audio has confirmed. The show is set decades before Keanu Reeves came out of retirement to avenge the death of his puppy.
The fourth chapter of the blockbuster Wick franchise is currently in production, as previously reported.
As the series has progressed, it has expanded on the history of The Continental, where contract killers can grab a drink and rest their bleeding heads — provided they don’t kill on company property.
While Ian McShane plays the New York City location’s classy owner Winston Scott in the films, his character will reportedly be re-cast with a younger actor central to the 70s-set series.
According to Lionsgate TV, the show will follow the origins of the hotel, “through the eyes and actions of a young Winston Scott…dragged into the Hell-scape of a 1975 New York City to face a past he thought he’d left behind.” The studio continues, “Winston charts a deadly course through the New York’s mysterious underworld in a harrowing attempt to seize the iconic hotel, which serves as the meeting point for the world’s most dangerous criminals.”
Oscar-winning Braveheart director Gibson will reportedly play a character named Cormac in the show. It’s his first foray on series TV since the American ex-pat started his acting career in Australia in 1976.
Gibson will next be seen in theaters and on demand November 5 in the thriller Dangerous for Lionsgate, the studio behind the Wick movies and The Continental show.
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