Variety reported last year that Warner Bros. was going to make a sequel to the 2005 comic book film Constantine, the scariest DC movie ever made. Keanu Reeves is in talks to reprise the lead role, John Constantine, in Constantine 2.
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The character comes from DC Comics and was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette and John Totleben. John Constantine first appeared in Swamp Thing #37 (June 1985). The original film also starred Rachel Weisz, Tilda Swinton, Shia LeBouf and Peter Stormare. Reeves' Constantine is a cynical exorcist who can see angels and demons.
Variety included a recent update to the original story confirming that the John Wick and Matrix star is officially confirmed to appear in the sequel to the original film. The director of the first Constantine film, Francis Lawrence, is also expected to return. Unfortunately, the supernatural horror film storyline is missing from the equation.
The recent WGA strike is the cause of this delay. Now that the strike is over, Lawrence reassured everyone that Keanu, Lawrence and original producer Akiva Goldsman are working on a story.
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Speaking to Gamespot, the Hunger Games director opened up about the setbacks and difficulties of making a Constantine sequel. Lawrence said:
“We had to overcome a number of hurdles to regain control of the character, because other people had control of the Vertigo work. We have control.”
Fans of the first film have been waiting for a sequel for years. The original film came out when Keanu Reeves was on a wave of popularity after the Matrix franchise, and he's still on a wave of popularity. The film was modestly successful and received mixed to negative reception from critics. Over time, the film gained popularity and became a cult favorite among movie fans.
It's surprising that Lawrence and Reeves decided to move forward with a sequel, considering the upheaval at DC. The merger of Warner Bros with Discovery threw J.J. Abrams' Constantine HBO Max series project into the trash. Corporate politics and arrangements between Vertigo, Warner and others delayed the sequel.
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The film version of the character departed significantly from the comic book version. Although it didn't follow canon, the film found an audience who enjoyed Keanu's version. Reeves retained the caustic and cynical nature of John Constantine in the comics, but ditched the English accent and blonde hair.
After the 2005 film, a television series starring Matt Ryan as John Constantine was launched. The series was canceled after one season, but Ryan's portrayal of Constantine reappeared in the Arrowverse as the main character of Legends of Tomorrow. Ryan's interpretation is closer to the comic book version and, for many fans, is the definitive version of John Constantine.
Hopefully Reeves and Lawrence manage to write a script as soon as possible, and we can see Constantine return to the big screen. Reeves is as excited as fans are to see a sequel. As far back as 2005, when the first film was released, Keanu mentioned to IGN that he was thinking about a sequel. He stated :
“You know, my contract didn't call for a second movie, but myself, some of the producers, Francis Lawrence, the director, and I, we certainly would, because we fell in love with this guy. I fell in love of him I had one of the best times of my life working on a film, on this particular project.”
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TL;DR
- Keanu Reeves is set to reprise the role of John Constantine in the sequel to the original 2005 film.
- The film's original director, Francis Lawrence, will return.
- Property rights delayed the sequel project for years.