The Continental Trailer: Who Is Mel Gibson's Cormac In The John Wick Universe?

In the wake of "John Wick: Chapter 4," the Keanu Reeves-led franchise is about to widen its scope beyond the titular assassin. The limited series "The Continental: From the World of John Wick" is on its way to the Peacock streaming service, taking audiences back to a time long before Wick became the hitman recognized and feared by criminals the world over. Rather, the spotlight is on a young Winston Scott (Colin Woodell) as he rises through the ranks to become the head of the New York branch of the assassin-friendly Continental hotel chain.

Among the show's new characters is Cormac (Mel Gibson): the untrustworthy head of the NY Continental in the 1970s who has a complicated relationship with Winston and Charon (Ayomide Adegun). "He's kind of like [Winston and Charon's] mentor, or actually, mentor or tormentor, I'm not sure which. But he's rather a nefarious character who's like a father figure to them," Gibson explained of his character during a chat with MovieWeb. Now adults, Winston and Charon see Cormac for who he is and despise him for how he has used them for his own gain. Now, they want to get even.

Overall, Cormac is a seedy character, to say the least, and his immoral tendencies have adversely affected the entire Continental.

Cormac doesn't seem to care about much other than himself, according to Mel Gibson and the first trailer for "The Continental." He's ruthless, no-nonsense, and manipulative, which are all qualities that he has imposed on the Continental and the culture within it, whether he has tried to or not. "The Continental that we meet in the TV show is probably one of the worst Continentals in the world," executive producer Basil Iwanyk told MovieWeb. He goes on to explain that Cormac's awful tendencies haven't helped the matter.

"It's decrepit, it's corrupt, it's messy. Cormac, who's running it, is amoral and vindictive, and it almost mirrors the soul of New York, which is collapsing in on itself," he added. While problematic in his own right throughout the "John Wick" films, the Winston we see on the big screen — portrayed by Ian McShane — runs a tight ship as the manager of the Continental. It's a classy, well-kept locale with a strict set of guidelines. He likely maintains it this way due to how it fell into disarray under Cormac's leadership.

"The Continental" will arrive on Peacock on September 22.