Summary
- The Continental is a prequel series to John Wick set in 1975, exploring the origins of the iconic hotel. Familiar characters will appear as younger versions of themselves.
- Ayomide Adegun, a drama school student from Wales, was cast as a younger Charon in The Continental. His talent and Nigerian background added depth to the character.
- Colin Woodell was championed by producer Basil Iwanyk for the role of a younger Winston. He possesses old Hollywood star looks and is deeply talented, impressing the director.
As reported by ComicBook.com, during a recent event to promote the upcoming premiere of Peacock’s The Continental, series director Albert Hughes discussed recasting roles from the John Wick franchise into younger versions of the characters.
The Continental is a prequel series that takes place in 1975 and explores the origins of the iconic hotel previously seen in the John Wick movies. Being set in 1975 also means that well-recognized characters from the Keanu Reeves-led films will appear as much younger versions of themselves. This includes Ian McShane’s Winston (now played by Colin Woodell) and the late Lance Reddick’s Charon (now played by Ayomide Adegun). While opening up about the new actors portraying Winston and Charon in The Continental, the director stated,
“[Charon] was interesting because we did this big search as you usually do with a film, and we had this one guy that was really close. He came in three times and then the casting woman from London said, ‘Oh, I have this last person that might be… but he’s in Wales and drama school right now in his last year of drama school. He’s never been on camera.’And they show us his tape. I’m like, ‘Oh my God! He’s of Nigerian descent. His parents are from Nigeria. They live in London. So, he also knows that accent in his household, but he’s also talented. So, we yanked him out of his last year and his first scene was with Mel Gibson and Colin.”
However, The Book of Eli co-director said that when it came to casting a younger version of Winston for The Continental, the prequel’s producer Basil Iwanyk was the person that really saw something special in Woodell.
Albert Hughes Revealed That Producer Basil Iwanyk “Was a Big Champion of Colin”
Hughes continued, “Actually, Basil was a big champion of Colin. I’ve got to give him credit for that because I saw him and I’m like, ‘Oh yes, movie stars looks.’ But I didn’t see what he saw until he showed up. And he’s a very smart actor. He also has these old throwback movie star looks. He looks similar to Ian McShane in his younger years, but he’s deeply, deeply talented and he’s thinking, he’s constantly thinking even when he’s not doing dialogue, which is important I think.”
The Alpha director added that when it came to casting the younger versions of these characters he made sure that Woodell and Adegun’s ability to portray the characters accurately was the top priority. Hughes added:
“I think it’s important that they both are similar in appearance. I think it would throw the audience if they weren’t, but that’s a superficial thing. And then you have to get to talent. You need the talent.”
The Continental premieres on Peacock on September 22nd, while the second episode releases on September 29th. The third and final episode of the prequel series will air on October 6th.
