At San Diego Comic Con AKA SDCC, Ballroom 20 was packed while fans of the John Wick franchise and convention-goers were given an exclusive first look at Peacock’s three-part event The Continental: From the World of John Wick, accompanied by a Q&A panel moderated by Steven Weintraub, Collider Editor-in-Chief. Executive producer/director Albert Hughes, executive producer Marshall Persinger, and the creative team including editor Ron Rosen, action director Larnell Stovall and production designer Drew Boughton discussed what fans can expect, and showcased sneak peak moments from the series to get the audience in Ballroom 20 excited for the new world and characters.
QUOTES FROM ALBERT HUGHES, DIRECTOR (NIGHTS 1 & 3) / EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:
- ON WHY IT WAS IMPORTANT TO START THE SERIES OFF WITH AN ACTION SEQUENCE:
“For the fans out there, we got you. Yes, we have longer form storytelling but if you set up something like that early with someone like Larnell (action director), you want to satiate the hardcore John Wick fans right away. Also casual fans that will come and go this is wild, what’s going on here…”
- ON CREATING THE LOOK AND FEEL OF THE 70S:
“I’m gonna geek out a little bit. We found these old lenses at Panavision that haven’t been used in years and have been collecting dust. And so the lenses we shot the show shot “Doctor Zhivago”, “Cool Hand Luke” and “The Graduate”. We got these very antiquated lenses because today’s lenses are a bit too sharp and along with great production design, you can playfully do subtle things to convey this time period.”
- IN REGARD TO THE 3-PART EVENT“1 is wild. 2 is wild. 3 is crazy.”
QUOTE FROM MARSHALL PERSINGER, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:
- ON BRINGING THE CONTINENTAL TO LIFE:
“The best way to make something great is to have a great script first, have a great visionary director, and then have a cast that is to be damned”
QUOTE FROM LARNELL STOVALL, ACTION DIRECTOR:
- ON THE INTERESTING CHARACTERS THAT WILL BE SEEN IN THE CONTINENTAL:
“Once you see them in action, there’s gonna be cosplay for years to come”