John Constantine, the main character from the Hellblazer horror comic book series created by Alan Moore and Stephen R. Bissette and published by DC Comics in January 1988, had a feature film adaptation 17 years ago entitled Constantine (2005). The movie had Keanu Reeves as the title character who with the help of Rachel Weisz fought against Lucifer, incarnated by Peter Stormare, with the support of the angel Gabriel, in the form of Tilda Swinton. Djimon Hounsou, Shia LaBeouf, Pruitt Taylor Vince, and José Zúñiga were also in the film.
The movie, directed by Francis Lawrence, is centered on John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), a man who has literally been to hell and back. When he teams up with skeptical policewoman Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) to solve the mysterious suicide of her twin sister, their investigation takes them through the world of demons and angels that exists just beneath the landscape of contemporary Los Angeles. Caught in a catastrophic series of otherworldly events, the two become inextricably involved and seek to find their own peace at whatever cost.
The movie was a positive financial success, although less than expected, and it achieved mixed reviews from the media. But the fans liked it, and a sequel has been waiting for over a decade.
The TV series Constantine (2014–2015), with an unknown Matt Ryan as the title character, was developed for HBO Max, but the success was not even close to the expected and the project got soon canceled.
In 2011, the director Francis Lawrence mentioned the idea for a sequel, “it’s interesting that over the years, Constantine (2005) seems like it’s become… like it has this sort of cult following, which has been great. It’s been embraced. It would be great to figure out a sequel, and if we did, and we’ve been trying to figure one out, it would be great to do the really dark, scary version. We got caught in that weird PG-13–R no man’s land, and we should do the hard-R scary version, which I would love to do”. Keanu Reeves stated in May 2019 that he is open to reprising the role in the future, and in December 2021 he admitted that “I would love to be John Constantine again“.
And this weekend is when the surprise finally saw the light. Deadline announced that Warner Bros. is working on a sequel with Francis Lawrence returning as the director, Keanu Reeves and Peter Stormare acting, and with a screenplay that is being developed by Akiva Goldsman, the writer of popular Hollywood movies and expert in adaptations and sequels like Lost in Space (1998), I, Robot (2004), The Da Vinci Code (2006), Angels & Demons (2009), Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), and Rings (2017), who will also produce via his banner Weed Road Pictures. Alongside, J.J. Abrams and Hannah Minghella are producing with their brand Bad Robot.
The plot for the new Constantine movie has not been revealed yet.
Born in Vienna, Austria, Francis Lawrence is a filmmaker who has achieved a successful career in the American market, becoing one of the most wanted directors in Hollywood in the last years. Starting off as a music videos director, being behind a few ones that will remain in the eyes of the popular culture like Shakira’s Whenever, Wherever, Avril Lavigne’s Sk8er Boi, Britney Spears’s Circus, and Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance, he has also built a solid career as a blockbuster films director being behind I Am Legend (2007), Red Sparrow (2018), and The Hunger Games saga films.
It is to believe taht the production for the Constantine (2005) sequel, with a working title of Constantine 2, will still take a while to start until the director Francis Lawrence finishes his duties with his upcoming film Slumberland (2022), starring Jason Momoa and out this November, and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2023), expected next year and currently filming.
