Earlier this month, rumors began circulating about Warner Bros. Pictures’ potentially developing a new live-action DC movie centered on the anti-superhero and sorcerer John Constantine. Because of this, Francis Lawrence’s Constantine film which saw Keanu Reeves as the fan-favorite DC character has been brought up again with some fans showing support for Reeves’ possible return after 15 years since the film’s debut.
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In a recent interview with /Film, Lawrence finally addressed the possibility of making a sequel to his 2005 film. He has confirmed that they did try to develop the sequel. However, it didn’t really push through because the character’s film and TV rights weren’t available to them anymore.
“I think we all wanted to do it. It was successful enough. We wanted to make a responsible, more R-rated movie. By responsible, I mean we’d make a movie that wouldn’t cost quite as much as the original, which we thought was going to be PG-13. We worked on the sequel for a while. It was tricky to come up with where to take it,” Lawrence said. “…Unfortunately, I don’t even remember who has it, but with all these shared universes that exist now, with Constantine being a part of Vertigo, which is a part of DC, people have plans for these shared universes. You know, possibly different Constantines and things like that. Right now, we don’t have that character available to us for TV or movies, which is a bummer.”
The director has also revealed that he, Reeves and producer Akiva Goldsman have always been willing to make the project happen due to the original’s cult following. “We have been talking about it recently. It’s always stuck with all of us because we all love the movie, and especially realizing there’s a real cult following for this movie, it’d be fun to make. Keanu, Akiva, and I have actually talked about it.”
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The Constantine rumor does come on the heels of rumors that have begun swirling that the studio is also currently developing a film adaptation of DC Comics’ magician superheroine Zatanna Zatara, which is reportedly being worked as independent from Abrams’ Justice League Dark series. Though this may sound like a complicated affair to some fans, it’s not entirely impossible as WB and DC are planning to introduce big-screen audiences to the concept of the multiverse in the forthcoming The Flash, with Michael Keaton reportedly in talks to reprise his role as Batman in the film as an alternate universe version of the hero.
It also wouldn’t be the first time the various film and TV worlds have crossed over or existed simultaneously, with DC Universe/HBO Max series Doom Patrol featuring Joivan Wade’s portrayal of Victor Stone/Cyborg while the DC Extended Universe features Ray Fisher in the same role. It was even explained in this year’s Arrowverse crossover event, “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” that the DCEU, Arrowverse, and Titans/Doom Patrol universe all are on separate Earths, with Ezra Miller’s Flash cameoing in The Flash episode while Wade’s Cyborg cameoed in Legends of Tomorrow‘s episode.
