Keanu Reeves is making a new Constantine movie
Warner Bros. is bringing back the DC Comics warlock for a sequel to the 2005 film
Aux News Constantine
Warner Bros. revealed today that it’s bringing Keanu Reeves back to play John Constantine, the famed DC Comics warlock, for a sequel to Reeves’ 2005 “superhero” film.
The sequel would re-team Reeves with original director Francis Lawrence, who’s all over the news this week—having recently also been tapped to direct a biopic about the band Sublime. The proposed film also comes as Warner Bros., uh… Well, how do we put this delicately? Let’s go with “Attempts to solidify its comic book movie strategy into something that looks like it might have come from an actual corporate machine, and not a guy who couldn’t find his ass with two hands and a map to the ass store.”
(The studio, recently merged with Discovery, is apparently struggling to find someone who wants the unenviable job of running their overall superhero movie division, i.e., spending the next two years of their life getting compared unfavorably to Marvel’s Kevin Feige while Warner/Discovery CEO David “Movie Murderer” Zaslav breathes directly down their neck.)
It’s not entirely hard to see why Constantine might appeal for a sequel treatment, though. Reeves is, if anything, even more popular now than he was back in 2005, when the original movie—based off of DC’s Hellblazer comics, and a character originally co-created by Alan Moore—clocked a respectable $230 million at the box office. The character has also been kept nicely alive in the public consciousness: Matt Ryan played him (with significantly more comics-faithful swagger than Reeves, we feel moved to note) for several years across multiple D.C.-based TV shows, and the Constantine family name is currently alive and well in Netflix’s Sandman. Plus, the sequel is being written by Akiva Goldsman and produced by J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot—and while Goldsman’s presence isn’t necessarily a hallmark of quality, it does promise that a decent chunk of change is likely to get tossed at this thing.
It’ll be interesting to see how much of the original Constantine cast returns for the film; Rachel Weisz co-starred in the first movie, and Tilda Swinton and Peter Stormare both had major roles—Stormare’s turn as Satan at the film’s climax is still one of his best, most scenery-chewing performances in a career that’s never lacked for them.
35 Comments
great movie, but a huge departure from the comics. I am a traitor to my own nerdy people to say that I am glad this version is getting a sequel!Can we also get a true-to-the-comics Hellblazer movie with Matt Ryan? Por que no los dos?
Hey, I’m right there with you. I’m a DIE HARD Hellblazer fan, but I thought the first movie was totally enjoyable. Not the Constantine movie I would have made, but as its own thing, I wouldn’t mind more of it.
Yeah, I liked the movie, but my primary reaction was “why did they pop for the license”? I’d rather have an entertaining and unfaithful adaptation than the opposite, but man did that movie wander away from the source material.
They might have started with a script that was closer to the comics, but by the time it went through rewrites and studio notes, it was more “inspired by” than “based on.”
It took me a few years to get over my “but it’s not faithful to the comics!” opinions and admit to myself that in spite of all of that, I still like Constantine. (The link below is the best review I’ve ever read that encapsulates my feelings about that.)https://the-avocado.org/2022/04/12/the-discount-spinner-rack-constantine-2005/ I would like them to stop pretending it’s anything more than inspired by the comics, but I do look forward to this sequel.
I wasn’t a Keanu fan at the time so I didn’t really think much of the movie but years later, I’ve grown to appreciate it and would certainly welcome a sequel. Not sure how Akiva Goldsman treat it, though.
I liked the movie. I like Matt Ryan as Constantine. But Matt Ryan’s Constantine is TV Constantine. I just can’t see him carrying an actual high-profile movie as Constantine.
Well, this is John Constan-teen, and the blonde, British one is John Constan-tyne. Problem solved!
Abandon hope, all ye who enter here…
“the sequel is being written by Akiva Goldsman and produced by J.J. Abrams”
I’d be happy with being able to watch Matt Ryan in the tv series again without having to buy it.
I wonder where Zaslav is finding enough money to make more movies. Some kind of deal with the devil?
If the first one came out today people would be screaming that Tilda Swinton as Gabriel was ViRtUe SiGnAlInG & shitting into their adult diapers on Twitter.
I’m sure. I know I saw people mad about gender swapping Constantine and Lucifer(does Satan even have a gender)in Sandman. Of course Gaiman and show runners also went and diversified the cast which also made the Nazis mad.
Everyone likes multiverses now ..a HellBlazer Constantine teaming/scheming up with his DC Constantine counterpart would be fun. And give the world a Matt Ryan/Keanu Reeves movie.
Throw in Jenna Coleman then debut Julian Sands & Sting variants of Constantine!
It was $230 million for a combined global box office, but it only grossed $76 million domestically on a $100 million budget. If Keanu Reeves didn’t make it a blockbuster hit the first time, I doubt it’ll happen now.
Ehh, I bet if it’s halfway decent, it’ll do fine. People know the character better now. And people seem to like Reeves even more now than back then.
It’ll do okay, but it’s not going to rake in the John Wick bucks they’re counting on.
Hey now, don’t forget Papa Midnite…
Good! All I ever read is how his casting was not right for the first one, but it was a highly satisfying film. Don’t know if a sequel this many years later is necessary or will work, but I’ll gladly watch it.
They should reboot it with Daniel Craig imo
Doom Patrol had the best version of him so far, I think. Even if they couldn’t use his name.
Since it’s a big blockbuster movie, and the universe needs to balance light (aka Jenna and Matt) with dark (anything warner/discovery) I’m guessing we’ll be getting a straight Constantine.
The 2005 movie didn’t have him romantically involved with anyone. In the spirit of that film doing things well but straying far from the comic, I vote they make this Constantine asexual.
Maybe Zaslav watch Keanu Reeve’s interview with Stephen Colbert
It would have been funny if when asked about characters he wanted to, return to Keanu said “Eddie Kasalivich” and Colbert would be like “Who?” and Keanu would be like “You know, Eddie Kasalivich, the protaganist from 1996’s Chain Reaction!”
I’m just holding out for a My Own Private Idaho sequel.
Easy enough to retcon the John Wick films into the Constantine series – Wick was actually Constantine, having suffered a schizophrenic/dissociative break, thinking that he was killing regular humans with regular weapons, is shown to have been killing demons with magical weapons all along.
Into the Keanuverse is the crossover event I want most–how else could you get a movie featuring Johns Wick and Constantine, Jonnys Utah and Mnemonic, and Jack Traven? Throw in Jonathan Constable’s accent work and you’ve got yourself a blockbuster without even leaving the Js!
“Pain heals. Chicks dig scars. Glory lasts forever.” – John Falco Wick
In a lot of ways, Constantine (the movie) reminds me a lot of John Wick — you have this guy who is trying to get out of a job he doesn’t particularly like (demon hunter vs assassin) but gets pulled back in due to events beyond his control, there is this idea that there is a whole secret world of demon hunters/assassins living in plain sight in our world, and there are neutral places (the bar in Constantine, the Continental Hotel in John Wick) where opposing sides can meet but not fight.
Shia LaBeouf was slated to return as Chas, but reports state he fell out with an unnamed “yellow public transportation vehicle.”
I know a lot of us have come around on Reeves, I as much as anyone, but I can’t believe people think this movie is good now.
I’m well up for this. Would be cool if other cast members returned.
If they want to pay me millions of dollars I will be in charge of their comic book films division for a while until they fire me but give me a huge severance package.