'Legends of Tomorrow' EP Phil Klemmer Says He Doesn't Want to Change Constantine

When John Constantine (Matt Ryan) officially joins up with the Legends next season as a series regular on DC's Legends of Tomorrow, executive producer Phil Klemmer says he wants to make sure the character's appeal remains intact, and that adjusting to Constantine means changes for the Legends, not the other way around.

Ryan has been playing Constantine for five years, since the character had his own short-lived, self-titled series on NBC. Since that show's cancellation, fans have been rabid about finding a new home for the character, but a vocal segment have expressed disappointment at the prospect of Constantine being watered down for a more mainstream audience.

"I had not really realized the fervor of [Constantine's] fandom," Klemmer told ComicBook.com. "I sort of accidentally discovered it. Honestly, we put him on the show just because we wanted him on the show. There's no cynical calculation of trying to accumulate somebody else's fans. I think we have fun with our characters. Having Tala Ashe on the show...she's cool. If I just needed an adjective to describe her, she is a cool lady. I feel the same way about Constantine and Matt. We wanted just a counterpoint to our Legends....Personally, I can't imagine Constantine having quarters on the Waverider. I want to keep him Constantine. I don't want to ever have a scene of him having to do his laundry because to me, guys like Constantine, they always have clean clothes. Who knows where they come from? I don't want to see that scene."

So, what are we looking at, then? His old mill house set from Constantine is long since struck and likely too expensive to recreate. Could we get something like Fonzie's bathroom "office" on Happy Days, a set that is dramatically different from the spaces for the rest of the characters? Well...!

"That apartment of his that we his last episode" might prove to be a space where the Legends can go to find Constantine, Klemmer hinted. "That was just like an episodic set that was built just for that episode. As soon as I saw that severed foot chicken storyline, it showed Constantine [in a different light]. Most people don't think of him as being a funny guy but I think that's the trick of our show. I don't want to de-fang him or de-cool him in a way. I don't want him to have to accommodate being a Legend. I think it's up to the Legends to tolerate John Constantine for who he is."

DC's Legends of Tomorrow airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW. Next week's episode, the season three finale, will feature guest appearances by Matt Ryan as John Constantine, Helen of Troy, Franz Drameh as Jefferson "Jax" Jackson, Johnathon Schaech as Jonah Hex, and more.