Constantine Sequel With Keanu Reeves Is Officially Happening, Director Francis Lawrence To Return
Some demon-dealing magicians get all the luck. After nearly two decades, Keanu Reeves will return to the role of John Constantine in a sequel to the 2005 cult hit "Constantine." Deadline reports that Warner Bros. has greenlit a "Constantine 2" starring Reeves and re-teaming him with director Francis Lawrence. "Constantine" was Lawrence's directorial debut and he went on to direct "I am Legend" and the "Hunger Games" sequels, so he's sharpened his talents and could potentially be back with an even better tale of Constantine's troubles. (John is always in trouble. That's his whole thing.)
While many fans might be asking "why now?," they should really be asking "why not?" Not only is Reeves still killing it as an action star in the "John Wick" franchise, but the character of Constantine has gained new interest due to the success of Netflix's "The Sandman" series, which turned the character into Joanna Constantine but maintained the same cursed history and bad attitude. "Constantine" may have been a shoddy adaptation of the "Hellblazer" comic series, but it was a great take on the character of John Constantine and is an incredibly fun comic book flick.
Someone might have made a deal with the Devil to get a sequel made after all of these years, but it was worth it.
Variety also confirmed that Warner Bros. is indeed making a "Constantine" sequel, though their sources say that the HBO Max series has gotten the axe. Bad Robot was producing that as well as a "Madame X" series directed by Angela Robinson, which has also allegedly been cut. Either series could get picked up by another streamer if they can convince Warner Bros. to share the rights, but it doesn't take a fortune teller to see that the future of "Justice League Dark" on television isn't looking bright.
A cancer survivor who still has demons to face
The as-yet-unnamed "Constantine 2" will see John a little older and (potentially) a little wiser, and there are dozens of stories from the comic book run that the filmmakers could draw from. While the magician and occultist managed to survive terminal lung cancer because Satan himself (Peter Stormare) intervened, he still has plenty of problems to deal with. Everyone who cares about John ends up dead, and the events of the first "Constantine" movie cemented that with the death of Chaz (Shia LeBeouf).
Maybe John can accidentally settle down and the movie can be about the "Happy Families" story, in which Constantine has kids with a demon, or they can dig into writer Brian Azzarello's arc that sends John to prison. There are loads of opportunities for screenwriter Akiva Goldsman to explore, and hopefully, he can match the strange tone of the first film. (That screenplay was written by Kevin Brodbin and Frank Cappello.)
The sequel will be produced by Goldsman with Weed Road Pictures, along with Bad Robot's J.J. Abrams and Hannah Minghella. There's no timeline on when the movie will come out yet because this news is still very fresh, but hopefully, it can be fast-tracked into all of our eyeballs sooner than later. After all, there are a million comic book movies out there, but only one franchise has a guy who had sexcapades with the spirit of an entire city.
Please, Warner Bros., let us have a little "Constantine 2," as a treat.