Constantine 2writer Akiva Goldsman provided an update on the sequel starring Keanu Reeves, who returns as the demon-huntingDCcharacter, John Constantine, after 17 years. This is due to Goldsman’s Weed Road reuniting with Warner Bros. Discovery as part of a multi-year deal that includes the production ofConstantine 2andI am Legend 2.
The continuation ofConstantineis aDCproject that Reeves has been fighting for since he originally played the character in 2005, and thanks to his success in theJohn Wickfranchise, it has finally been green-lit. However, amid Warner Bros. Discovery cancelingBatgirland other projects, and DC Studios branching off into its separate division as it carves out a new path for the DC franchise,rumors surfaced thatConstantine 2was canceled. Thankfully, those rumors have been put to rest as theConstantineproduction moves forward with updates from Goldsman.
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PerDeadline, Weed Road Pictures joins Warner Bros Pictures co-chairs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy by ushering inConstantine 2with producer and writer Goldmans, who confirmed he is writing the film and that Francis Lawrence is directing in collaboration with J.J Abrams' Bad Robots, which is also producingStephen King’sBilly Summers. “We’re doing it with JJ Abrams, and Francis and Keanu and I have been pretty deep in the story-breaking stage,” Goldman said. Crediting Reeves' tenacity in gettingConstantine 2off the ground, Goldsman hinted at what to expect from the sequel. “The character is very much Keanu and the way he and Francis saw the world of good and evil, and the wonderful and authentic noir where there is a world behind the world of good and evil coexist with our world right up close. Beyond that, we are still discovering it as I am writing the script.”
The firstConstantinefilm was not meant to continue, but once De Luca and Abdy replaced Toby Emmerich as Warner Bros. Pictures co-chairs in early 2022, one of the first things they did was green lightConstantine 2with Reeves. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, De Luca, and Abdy were also reportedly developingMan of Steel 2with Henry Cavill, despite Emmerich’s previous desire to reboot the character. However, this was before James Gunn and Peter Safran, co-CEOs of the newly-formed DC Studios, convinced Zaslav that a DCU reboot would be more desirable for the franchise.Constantine 2did not seem to interfere with the future DCU that Gunn and Safran are building, so it was not canceled like other DC projects. When replying to a fan on Instagram, Gunn described DC Studios and Warner Bros. Discovery as separate divisions now, so what decision-making processes De Luca and Abdy will have going forward regarding DC films, if any, remains to be seen.
Despite the shifting tides at Warner Bros. Discovery,Constantine 2stays in active development. However, considering the company’s shaky history regarding productions that make it on the big screen, time will tell ifConstantine 2makes it to the silver screen. For the time being, it may be safe to assume thatConstantine 2will be part of the DC Elseworlds label, similar toThe BatmanandJokersequels, as the upcoming film was not part ofGunn’s DC slate announcement.
