The Continental Director Compares John Wick Spin-off to The Lord of the Rings

Director Charlotte Brändström, the filmmaker behind The Continental and The Rings of Power, discusses the similarities between the two franchises from the world of John Wick and The Lord of the Rings, respectively.

Both franchises, in retrospect, share seemingly nothing in common; one is an action film series, while the other delves into the fantasy side of cinema, complete with otherworldly powers, medieval creatures, and monsters.

However, for Brändström — who has worked behind the camera on both projects — both franchises share more in common than audiences may initially think.

John Wick Is a Modern-Day The Lord of the Rings

In an interview with MovieWeb, the director recalled the moment Chad Stahelski — who has helmed all four John Wick movies — compared John Wick to The Lord of the Rings.

“John Wick is a fantasy franchise. It’s a modern fantasy franchise. I even remember Chad [Stahelski] said in an interview that he loved John Wick because it was a modern-day Lord of the Rings,” said Brändström.

“What I love about this kind of series is it is world-building. You build a parallel world and try to find the humanity and ground it. What I loved about Tolkien is that it is a lot about humanity and species and days of old mythology, but you identify with the characters. I felt that was very important in this series was to get into the characters,” he added.

The John Wick television spin-off, The Continental, is available to watch on Peacock and Amazon Prime Video. On the other hand, The Lord of The Rings series, titled The Rings of Power, can be streamed via Prime Video.