Over the years, DC studios had many acclaimed projects in line of development. Unfortunately, not all of those projects got to see the light of the day. Surprisingly, Keanu Reeves’ Constantine 2 almost turned into one such movie that was inches close to getting shelved by Warner Bros.
Now that Keanu Reeves’ Constantine 2 is in development, director Francis Lawrence found it safe to disclose the obstacles they faced. As per the filmmaker, Reeves’ 2005 DC flick almost suffered the same threat as Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam sequel. With regime change at DC Studios, Lawrence’s project almost ended up getting tossed away until now.
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Keanu Reeves’ Constantine 2 Faced Severe Obstacles
Following the release of Keanu Reeves‘ 2005 movie Constantine, the DC flick landed poorly with critics at just 46% RT rating. Further, the film even stumbled at the global box office with a $230.9M gross. Nonetheless, despite failing to make an impact, Reeves was repeatedly rumored to be making a comeback with a sequel.
While fans highly doubted the rumors, especially since the 2005 movie was a flop, Keanu Reeves shockingly confirmed his DC comeback in 2022, after almost two decades. After years of struggle, when Warner Bros finally grabbed the proposal for Constantine 2 and decided to proceed with its development, director Francis Lawrence opened up about the obstacles during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
“We’ve had many obstacles. Me, Keanu, Akiva [Goldsman] have tried over the years to wrangle some control of the character again because it had been handed over. I think NBC did a TV show, and then J.J. [Abrams] was going to try and do something. And then the regime at DC changed, and they’ve got their plans.”
Discussing the initial trouble they faced with various other versions of the character, director Francis Lawrence touched upon the issue of regime change at DC Studios.
Constantine 2 Suffered the Same Threat as Black Adam 2
Although the issue of a shift in power doesn’t appear as a big deal to audiences, it’s, in fact, a major trouble for filmmakers and actors. And with DC Studios facing the issue of regime change, it naturally affected Keanu Reeves’ Constantine 2 almost as brutally as it affected Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam sequel.
As per reports, Dwayne Johnson‘s Black Adam sequel suffered an unfortunate fate due to changes in leadership at Warner Bros. Discovery. Appearing on Kevin Hart’s show Hart to Heart, the actor informed how everything changed when James Gunn and Peter Safran took over and reshaped the DC Studios slate.
“Black Adam got caught in a vortex of new leadership…all those changes in leadership, you have people coming in who, creatively and fiscally, are going to make decisions that you may not agree with.”
Implying how the change in leadership and differences in opinions affected the development of Black Adam 2, Dwayne Johnson discussed why his film sequel got shelved. A similar thing almost happened with Keanu Reeves’ Constantine 2, but fortunately, the 2005 DC sequel made it to development.
“Luckily, we managed to wrangle some control and started working on some ideas for Constantine 2, which we’re really excited about.” Lawrence told The Hollywood Reporter.
Keanu Reeves’ Constantine 2 tackled the same threat that Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam 2 faced. Only this time, Reeves’ project will get to see the light of the day, unlike the Black Adam sequel.
