When a young Winston is first introduced in “The Continental”, he’s busy searching for his missing brother, Frankie (Ben Robson), whom he hasn’t spoken to in years. A particular action sequence involves Frankie escaping the hotel and crashing outside into a pile of garbage, while numerous henchmen engage in bombastic action. This sequence was shot in the exterior of the hotel, which was painstakingly built over a long time, prompting Hughes to wait until it was finished, so he could shoot all his scenes in one go. As he finally got time to shoot his scenes from episode 1 along with establishers for the first two episodes, Hughes wanted to take his time getting everything right.
However, the studio was soon due to be used by the production for Denis Villenueve’s “Dune: Part Two,” and Hughes and his crew had to wrap things up as quickly as possible, as their set would soon be torn down to accommodate another. Hughes recalls this with a laugh:
“Then they’re rushing me, they’re saying, ‘You have to finish this by Monday because ‘Dune’s coming in to tear this down and build a ‘Dune’ set!’ I’m like, ‘Wait a sec, you guys told me to wait, now you’re telling me to hurry up!'”
As the world of “Dune” comprises massive vistas of sand and expansive rooms with cavernous space, with sequences that convey sheer scale, it is likely “Dune: Part Two” will continue this trend. The pressure Hughes’ felt while finishing up shots for the prequel series is understandable, but hopefully, we can see this translated into frenetic action sequences that signify the delightfully unpredictable “John Wick” universe.
The first episode of “The Continental: From the World of John Wick” is available on Peacock now.
