Ian McShane calls new John Wick series a 'cash grab' and says he and Keanu Reeves weren't consulted

Ian McShane has hit out at the new John Wick spinoff series by Peacock.

The actor, who plays Winston Scott in the John Wick movies, slammed the spinoff series in an interview with Movieweb.

The series, called The Continental, looks at the origin of the infamous assassin hotel which features heavily in John Wick.

The three-episode-long season features a young Winston Scott, who is played by Colin Woodell, and sees Scott's rise to power in 1970s New York City.

By the time of the first film, Scott is the owner of the New York Continental Hotel for assassins and a friend of the titular character.

The Continental premiered on streaming platform Peacock in September 2023. But McShane has been left unimpressed by the new addition to the John Wick universe.

Asked about the show by Movieweb, he said: "I wouldn’t watch it. I have no intentions - nobody - I don’t think Keanu watched it, neither has Chad [Stahelski]. It had nothing to do with our movies."

The series came after John Wick: Chapter 4

He went on to criticise the series and Peacock, saying: "It’s just a question of a TV company cashing in on the series. They never asked us about anything so why would I be interested in seeing it?

He added: "I’m afraid their arrogance in getting the show out is beyond me so I wish them well. I think it’s come and gone, hasn’t it?"

The Continental's run on Peacock ended on October 6, with the series getting mixed reviews.

On Rotten Tomatoes it scored a 63 percent rating with critics and 78 percent with audiences.

Not bad, but it pales next to the scores for John Wick: Chapter 4, which clocked in at 94 percent for critics and 93 percent for audiences.

But The Continental is just the beginning of spin-offs for the John Wick universe.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Another series called Ballerina will star Ana De Armas as a young assassin, and is set for release on June 7.

McShane also commented on the series in an appearance on BBC's The One Show on the sofa next to British TV hosts Ant and Dec.

Speaking about Ballerina, he said: "They've gotta protect the franchise, about a year ago we did the movie. They've looked at it and Chad's come in, that directed all the John Wick movies, and they want to make it better."

At this point Ant interjected, saying that he'd just finished watching The Continental.

McShane replied: "They never asked anybody about it, they just went and did it. Somebody asked about it, we both went 'I dunno, nobody ever asked us about it!'"

UNILAD has reached out to Peacock for comment.

• John Wick director reveals one thing Keanu Reeves does more than speak in his films and it won't surprise you
• Perfect Netflix mini-series labelled 'Korean John Wick' as fans watch for 24 million hours in release week
• Keanu Reeves proves he's the 'nicest guy in Hollywood' responding to girl's request
• Survivor’s Rick Devens breaks silence after show exit and reveals unexpected moment that didn’t make it to air