It’s been 17 long years since the release of the live-action adaptation of DC Comics character John Constantine. The movie, named after the character, had the privilege of having the popular The Matrix star Keanu Reeves in its cast, and with recent plans about a potential sequel making the rounds, the excitement for the character has been reignited.
Fans have been eagerly waiting for a sequel to the movie, and after all those years of waiting their thirst has been quenched. As it stands, a sequel is currently in development with the original director Francis Lawrence set to return as the man behind the camera, and even better, Keanu Reeves will return as John Constantine!
How The Much Awaited Constantine 2 Came To Be
After the cult-following that emerged following the release of the original movie loosely based on the Hellblazer comic, the announcement of a second Constantine movie has been long overdue. But it’s also had a troubled development process.
Back in 2011, director Francis Lawrence admitted that “it would be great to figure out a sequel”, and if they ever came about doing it, they’d try and do an R-Rated version which would be “scary”.
Those plans seemed to have been foiled by the announcement of a deal signed by Pan’s Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro to take on the director’s seat to write as well as direct a movie around John Constantine, among many other members of the Justice League Dark team.
Fan hopes were at an all-time high a few years later when Keanu Reeves himself said that he would be open to reprising his role as the character in the future in 2019, reiterating his desire to do so once again in 2021.
Ultimately, fans were finally treated to the news that they wanted to hear, that being an official announcement about the development of a second movie that will follow up on Constantine.
In September 2022, Deadline confirmed that the sequel will happen, and Francis Lawrence will return as the director along with Reeves set to reprise his role as the titular character. Akiva Goldsman will be penning the screenplay as well as producing the movie with J.J. Abrams and Hannah Minghella.
Francis Lawrence Hints That Constantine Sequel Will Take Time
During a recent interview with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, in which Weintraub speaks with Slumberland director Francis Lawrence, the latter was unable to not spill the beans on the Constantine sequel.
The 51-year-old director explained why it took such a long wait to finally get the sequel up and running in development. He explains-
“It’s something that we’ve been talking about since we made Constantine because we all loved it. So we’ve been talking about it, talking about it, talking about it.”
“All the DC [properties], because Vertigo is part of DC, that sort of like the control of those properties got complicated with Warner Bros. with DC, with JJ [Abrams]’s deal, you know, all those kinds of things. There’s a lot of complicating factors.”
“So it was never Akiva, and Keanu, and I happen to be sort of convinced to do it. It was really trying to figure out how we can get some sort of control over the Constantine character again.”
Keanu Reeves’ return as the titular character is a bonus on top of the official announcement. But as Lawrence hints, it will take quite some time to finish the sequel since calling the original cast back for their roles would also be a task.
There is no confirmed release date for a Constantine sequel, despite being in development.
Source: Collider
