John Wick prequel TV show casts Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson in The Expendables 3
(Image credit: Lionsgate)

Mel Gibson has been cast in The Continental, the upcoming John Wick prequel TV series, Deadline reports. He's the first actor to join the show's cast.

The three-part series will center around the origins of the titular hotel where assassins from around the world come to meet. The Continental has become pivotal to the John Wick franchise, and the series will follow a young Winston Scott (played by Ian McShane in the movies) in the mid-'70s. Gibson is set to play a new character named Cormac – there's no word yet on who'll play Winston. It's set to air on Starz, although it doesn't have a release date yet.

 This will mark a rare small-screen appearance for Gibson, although he did make his acting debut in the Australian drama series The Sullivans back in 1976. He's no stranger to the action genre, however – he's recently appeared in movies like Boss Level, Force of Nature, and Blood Father. He also directed the 2016 war movie, Hacksaw Ridge.

Elsewhere in the Wick-verse, John Wick: Chapter 4 is currently filming and will see Keanu Reeves return in the lead role as the titular assassin, alongside McShane, Laurence Fishburne, Lance Reddick, and Rina Sawayama. Franchise screenwriter Derek Kolstad and director Chad Stahelski are also back for the fourth installment, and the movie is set for release on May 27, 2022. 

While we wait for The Continental to arrive on the small screen, fill out your watch list with our picks of the best TV shows of 2020.

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.