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Constantine 2 still far from ready, says original movie director, but the story is being "hashed out"

Keanu Reeves' return to superhero horror will have to wait a bit longer.

Constantine (2005) — Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

News by Fran Ruiz,

Published on Tue Oct 31 2023

A little over a year ago, every veteran comic book reader and horror movie fanatic was surprised by the news that a direct sequel to 2005's Constantine movie was actually happening. Now, GameSpot has a small update regarding the current status of a project which is still very much up in the air because of the recent shakeups at DC Studios and Warner.

It was filmmaker Francis Lawrence himself, during the press tour for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, who confirmed the project is alive but moving slowly. Lawrence has been busy putting the finishing touches on the Hunger Games prequel, and up next for him may be the long-awaited BioShock adaptation set up at Netflix. "Keanu and Akiva Goldsman and I have been in meetings and have been hashing out what we think the story is going to be, and there's more meetings of those that have to happen--the script has to be written--but really hoping that we get to do Constantine 2, and make a real rated R version of it," the director said to GameSpot.

While a potential Constantine sequel sounds like the literal opposite of what Warner Discovery and James Gunn's DC Studios are building at the moment, let's not forget that 'Elseworlds' projects such as sequels to both The Batman and Joker are happening. In fact, Gunn has expressed a lot of interest in the idea of continuing the explore DC properties from different angles and without the "limitations" imposed by a shared universe. With Keanu Reeves becoming one of the biggest stars in Hollywood after the massive success of the John Wick franchise and casual audiences getting progressively tired of regular Marvel and DC adaptations, Constantine 2 could be an appealing "mature" project to tackle.

The DC Comics/Vertigo Comics Hellblazer graphic novels were first properly adapted in the 2005 movie directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Keanu Reeves. While it's gained a cult following over the years and its distinct visual style is constantly praised, the original reception was tepid at best. Later, an NBC series based on the Hellblazer comics, starring Matt Ryan, premiered in October 2014 and concluded in February 2015. While the show only ran for one season before being cancelled, that iteration of the character survived and joined the Arrowverse franchise and animated DC projects.

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