Earlier this year, the John Wick franchise provided actions fans with a feast of kick-ass delights with the nearly three hour-long John Wick: Chapter 4… but the canon isn’t yet done offering up insane fight scenes of epic proportions in 2023. In just a few months, the new three-part prequel series The Continental will be arriving on Peacock, and earlier today it was revealed that the show’s finale features an on-going battle that goes non-stop for almost a full hour.
This ridiculous detail about the upcoming show was revealed this afternoon during The Continental’s panel at San Diego Comic-Con, where filmmakers were brought on stage in the San Diego Convention Center and exclusive clips were show to attendees. As praise was being spread around by the panelists to their collaborators both present and absent, director Albert Hughes expressed specific appreciation to screenwriter Ken Kristensen for his work on the third and final episode of the series, and his words were backed up by comments from second unit director Larnell Stovall about what audiences can expect:
Albert Hughes: I also want to give a shout-out to Ken Kristensen, the other writer of episode 3, who stepped in and really delivered – because you guys have to see it. One is wild; two is wild; three is crazy.
Larnell Stovall: I think three, I want to say we have about 10 feature fight sequences, and in a certain part that you’ll spot I think we have created over 60-something action pieces. I can’t give it away.
Albert Hughes: Yes… I timed it. At the start of the takeover [of The Continental], because I think we all know there’s going to be a takeover – I mean, Winston winds up there – it’s 57 minutes non-stop.
That’s a hell of a lot of action. It was previously revealed that each of the episodes – titled “Night 1”, “Night 2” and “Night 3” – are going to be 90 minutes long, so this news means that over 60 percent the finale will be a single ass-kicking sequence.
But will it actually be tolerable? If not paced or edited well, even the most brilliantly choreographed fight scenes can become exhausting. If it can be pulled off successfully, however, it would be one hell of a feat, and The Continental’s achievement would fit well in 2023 alongside not only John Wick: Chapter 4’s aforementioned extended runtime, but also the 21-minute single shot in Extraction 2 (featuring Chris Hemsworth legitimately getting set on fire).
Fans looking forward to the prequel series – which centers on a young Winston Scott (Colin Woodell) and Charon (Ayomide Adegun) in 1970s New York – won’t have to wait long to see it. It’s been announced that “Night 1” of The Continental will premiere for Peacock subscribers on September 22, followed by “Night 2” on September 29, and “Night 3” on October 6. Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more about the show, as well as more of our coverage out of San Diego Comic-Con.
