The John Wick series of films has quickly become one of the most well-recognized franchises of the past decade due to its high-octane action sequences and the assassin-filled world of mystery in which they occur. The recently released Peacock original companion series, The Continental: From the World of John Wick, aims to answer some of the looming questions that fans of the films have after the quartet of movies' conclusion. If one of those questions is "Does this series show off classic American muscle cars just like John Wick did?" then consider it answered with a resounding "yes."

Instead of focusing on what happens after the conclusion of John Wick: Chapter 4, this series centers around a young Winston Scott, the manager for the New York branch of the The Continental Hotel. It gives fans some much-requested background on the character and explains how he came to be entangled with this international chain of hideaways for assassins. But an unexpected aspect of the show is the illumination it also sheds on the franchise's most famous car.

In the first episode of The Continental, Winston (played by Colin Woodell) can be seen using a 1969 Mustang Mach 1 as his go-to vehicle. He asks his uncle Charlie to lend him a vehicle, and Charlie obliges by sending over "Maria," the prize of his collection. Motoring enthusiasts of all kinds will recognize this as one of the first and most successful Mustang models purpose-built for power as Ford began to enter the muscle car wars in earnest. 

This is a great entry point for car-oriented fans of the film franchise; the John Wick film series enjoyed unique popularity due to the attention to detail with which it selected important cars from the golden age of muscle to feature in prolonged action sequences. By inserting one of the most well-beloved Mustangs from this age into the narrative, the series anchors this population of fans' attention in a familiar yet new story.

However, other eagle-eyed John Wick fans will recognize the car for a more nuanced reason: it's the exact car that John Wick sets out to retrieve from Russian gangsters in the series' first film. And when we say exact, we mean it; the car not only has the same paint color and racing stripes as John's, it also has the exact same license plate.

The inclusion of the same car across multiple franchise entries is not a simple easter egg. Rather, the thematic importance of the vehicle gives The Continental and John Wick connective tissue that drives a deeper connection between their main characters than just existing in the same universe. First of all, the car is introduced as a collectible of great importance in the lives of its drivers. It's entrusted to Winston as the prize of a collection, and John treasures it enough to destroy an entire criminal organization to retrieve it. The Mach 1's precious nature is repeatedly communicated to consumers of both stories, so when the car is ruined at the end of The Continental's first episode and at the beginning of John Wick: Chapter 2, we as viewers feel the same pain that the car's drivers do.

What are the other implications this connection holds for the franchise as a whole? At this point, it's too soon to say. The bond between Winston and John and the films was never fully explained, but it's clear that they have more of a rapport than most of the other assassins in the series have with each other. With the knowledge that at one point Winston decides to gift this car to John, we have another clue that links them together. We'll have to keep watching The Continental to see if any more light is shed on this relationship, but one thing is already clear: both of the main protagonists of the John Wick universe have great taste in cars.

References:

The Continental Episode 1's 11 John Wick Easter Eggs & References (screenrant.com)

What Type of Car Does Winston Drive in ‘The Continental?’ (wegotthiscovered.com)