In the great words of Keanu Reeves, “Whoa.”
That is all that can be said about this latest news about the long-awaited Constantine sequel.
In 2005, Warner Brothers attempted to adapt the comic Hellblazer. The property involved the main character named John Constantine— a street-smart con man who also battles demons.
Reeves teamed with director Francis Lawrence to bring the source material to the big screen with mild results. The film had a budget of $100 million and grossed $75 million domestically ($230 million globally). Since then, the movie has taken on a life of its own, much like Keanu Reeves’ career post John Wick.
A sequel is something Reeves has wanted for a long time.
Well, he finally got his wish.
Constantine 2 is in development
Deadline has it confirmed that Reeves will reprise his role as John Constantine after 17 years.
The report also says Lawrence will return to direct and Akiva Goldsman is set to draft the screenplay, as well as serve as a producer.
There is unfortunate news out of this report, saying the J.J. Abrams series based on the same character has been scrapped by HBO. But Abrams will produce the film under his Bad Robot umbrella.
There is no confirmation on whether other actors will return such as Shia Labeouf, Tilda Swinton, or Peter Stormare.
Keanu Reeves gets his wish
Back around the release of The Matrix Resurrections, Keanu claimed this had been the one sequel he would love to revisit but was turned down by the industry.
Speaking to Stephen Colbert, he explained the rejection by saying, “I would love to play John Constantine again from the Constantine movie.” He added, ”I tried, Stephen.”
Why did they give him a chance now? Reeves has always been an A-list name, but since the days of John Wick, the action icon has entered a new stage in his career.
So it’s not surprising that Hollywood would reconsider a Keanu request today.
Constantine is worth revisiting
And honestly, despite the 46% Rotten Tomatoes rating from 2005, the movie is worth re-examining as an entry in the Reeves catalog.
Philippe Rousselot’s cinematography is beautiful for a horror fantasy movie. Peter Stormare as Satan is a revelation. And the noir approach was ahead of its time.
There is no word yet on the release date for Constantine 2, but Keanu Reeves has John Wick 4 coming up in the pipeline. There are even discussions of a spinoff for Halle Berry’s character Sofia from John Wick 3
Stay tuned for more Constantine sequel news at Monsters and Critics.
Anything Keanu puts his mind to is amazing..what are they waiting on anyway.