'The Killer's Shopping Mall' is Disney+'s 'John Wick'

*Contains spoilers for the first two episodes of ‘A Shop for Killers’.

The ‘John Wick’ franchise has gained immense popularity by depicting a unique world of assassins. Major cities around the world, including New York, feature ‘Continental Hotels’ catering specifically to killers, offering a variety of services. Notably, the gun sommelier scene showcased in ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’ has become an iconic image of the franchise.**

Disney+’s first original series of 2024, ‘A Shop for Killers’, feels like an extension of the John Wick universe. One of the central characters in this series, Jung Jin-man (Lee Dong-wook), runs an online shopping mall for killers in South Korea. While more modest than the Continental Hotel, it shares similarities with the world of John Wick, featuring a client list and a set of rules they must adhere to. (Of course, this series doesn’t actually take place in the same universe as the John Wick franchise.)**

Jin-man seems like someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy interacting with people. One of the few individuals he does interact with is his niece, Jung Ji-an (Kim Hye-jun). Jin-man keeps his true identity hidden from his niece, but he has trained her to be a formidable warrior just in case. Ji-an only learns the truth about her uncle after he unexpectedly dies. While sorting through Jin-man’s belongings, Ji-an discovers his online shop for killers and the hidden weapons in their house.

From that moment, killers start to close in on her. They attempt to break into her home with a variety of weapons and firearms to loot the items Jin-man had stored there. Ji-an initially panics, but she quickly begins to utilize the skills her uncle taught her, using various firearms to navigate this perilous situation.

The first two episodes of this series, released on January 17th through Disney+ in Korea and Hulu in the US, have been met with positive reception. The interwoven past and present scenes are seamlessly integrated, and the action sequences, which utilize firearms and drones, have been lauded despite not being fully revealed yet. The main actors reportedly underwent training four months prior to filming to prepare for the action-packed nature of the series.

This series is based on the Korean novel ‘Killer’s Shopping Mall’ and comprises a total of eight episodes. It is available as a Disney+ original in South Korea and other Asian regions, while it will be available on Hulu in the United States and other English-speaking countries. Unlike other Disney+ originals, two episodes will be released simultaneously each week.