The Continental: From the World of John Wick director Albert Hughes first crossed paths with John Wick masterminds Chad Stahelski and David Leitch in 2008.

At the time, Stahelski and Leitch had only recently decided to make the jump from stunt work to the director’s chair, beginning with second unit. So they interviewed for the second-unit gig on The Book of Eli, which Hughes co-directed alongside his twin brother, Allen. Stahelski and Leitch didn’t end up with the job, but it didn’t stop them from achieving their directorial dream a handful of years later when they co-directed the Keanu Reeves actioner John Wick.

Nearly a decade later, John Wick is now one of the preeminent action franchises, boasting 4 films that have each outgrossed their predecessors at the box office, with a fifth on the way.

Stahelski reminded Hughes of their encounter 15 years earlier during Zoom meeting for the Wick franchise’s first foray into TV with The Continental.

Hughes serves as executive producer and director, helming two of the miniseries’ three 90-minute episodes.

Hughes was well-suited for the project because his manner of shooting action has long aligned with the franchise’s style that consists of long and wide choreographed takes.

When the offer came in the midst of the pandemic, he mostly just wanted to enjoy himself again.

“I slept on the offer because I had this other offer. And then I said, ‘Man, I just want to have fun. I don’t want to do any generational trauma stuff. I don’t want to do any social issues. I just want to have fun,’” Hughes says. “So once I got to this project, it was quite easy for me to adapt to the John Wick style because that’s something I would be into anyway. But I’m not Stahelski. I don’t possess that particular set of skills.”

Developed by Greg Coolidge, Kirk Ward and Shawn Simmons, the Peacock miniseries is set in New York City during the 1970s, and it explores how the younger version of Ian McShane’s Winston Scott (Colin Woodell) first took possession of the assassin hotel known as The Continental. The prequel also tells the origin story behind Winston’s partnership with his future concierge, Charon.

“None of the producers told us [about Charon’s death]. Chad didn’t tell me,” Hughes says. “And then the tragic real-life stuff is pretty heavy. The kid that’s playing young Charon, Ayo, we had to pull him out of a drama school in Wales. He’d never been on camera before. So his first moment on camera was during a scene with Mel Gibson, and he had all of this responsibility already. And then finding out about Wick 4, I’m just happy that we saw Wick 4 after we shot.”

John Wick: Chapter 4 also turned the miniseries’ title character into rubble.

That was another detail that Hughes wasn’t fully aware of until he watched the movie at the time of its release. The early cut he watched upon wrapping the series did not have VFX completed, so he didn’t quite know the extent of what happened to Winston’s storied hotel.

“I didn’t actually see the Continental’s demolition] until it came out, and when it came out, I was like, ‘What the fuck?’” Hughes says with a laugh. “So I was quite shocked when I saw it. I was not expecting that, and it wasn’t talked about.”

How he’s evolved as a director since he and his brother went their separate ways, post-Book of Eli.