Keanu Reeves has been lobbying for a second film to be made, exploring the world of the demon-hunting John Constantine after getting another chance at life from the events of the first film. And after 17 years, it seems the actor’s enthusiasm has paid off. What has been revealed so far about the new Constantine sequel? Will it be connected to the DCEU? Find out below.
According to a Deadline report, Warner Bros. is developing the Constantine sequel and reuniting star Keanu Reeves with director Francis Lawrence.
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) September 16, 2022 Francis Lawrence had previously made a name for himself directing music videos for artists like Alanis Morissette, Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, The Black Eyed Peas, and many others. Lawrence has since found a lot of success as a director, including installments of The Hunger Games franchise. But 2005’s Constantine was his first big screen movie project. The follow-up to Constantine will be written and produced by Akiva Goldsman under his Weed Road Pictures. The movie would be co-produced alongside J.J. Abrams and Hannah Minghella representing Bad Robot Productions.
Long and hard road
As XFire previously reported, Keanu Reeves was still very interested in returning to the role. The actor even stated in a live interview on The Late Show with Steven Colbert back in December 2021 that he had tried to convince Warner Bros. to do a sequel: Reeves confirmed that he had been trying for years to get a Constantine sequel made. But the Warner Bros. studio executives did not seem to be as interested as he was in doing so. This is likely due to the 2005 film not meeting box office expectations, although was still profitable and has gone on to be a cult classic among DC Comics fans and fans of the horror genre. The movie took liberties with the canon established in the comic book Hellblazer, not the least of which is making the lead character American instead of British. The film was also more action-packed rather than the slow burn and complex storylines that were the hallmark of the Vertigo imprint. With the news that Reeves is returning to play John Constantine, this would be the third of his famous roles that the “breathtaking” actor has reprised in recent years. The other two roles that Reeves revisited recently are Ted from the Bill and Ted franchise and Neo from the Matrix series of films. And the actor is already coming up with a fourth film as the assassin John Wick, as well as a second run as Johnny Silverhand for the Cyberpunk games. Clearly, Keanu Reeves has much love for his recurring roles. But while Reeves is finally going to see his dream of getting a Constantine sequel made, he is certainly going to have a busy schedule. After voicing Batman in DC League of Super-Pets, he is already lined up to work with Martin Scorsese for a Hulu limited series.
HBO Max Constantine is dead
But where does this leave the planned Constantine series also spearheaded by J.J. Abrams? In a separate Deadline report, it has been confirmed that HBO Max has passed on the project. While this does not mean that the Constantine series will no longer be developed, it will not be for the HBO Max streaming service. Aside from the Constantine series, the Madame X show based on the DC Comics character Madame Xanadu was also passed. Both projects were under development under Abrams’s Bad Robot Productions. It should be noted that the Constantine series was going to be a separate version from the Keanu Reeves film, as well as the version portrayed by Matt Ryan on NBC and The CW shows. It was heavily rumored that Sope Dirisu (Gangs of London) was going to portray this new version of John Constantine. Some insiders and fans are speculating that the Constantine sequel is part of the long-term plan to restructure the DC Extended Universe being pushed by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. While there are no official confirmations that Constantine 2 will be part of the DCEU that started with 2013’s Man of Steel, this is certainly a big development for the DC Comics properties being pushed for theatrical release. No official release date has been set for the Constantine sequel. Keanu Reeves will next be seen in John Wick: Chapter 4, currently in post-production and targeted for a March 24, 2023 release date.
