Who Should Play Constantine In Dark Universe?

Dark Universe, the film that will take a number of DC’s supernatural characters and put them together in live action, is apparently closer than ever to becoming a reality, with The Bourne Identity and Edge of Tomorrow filmmaker Doug Liman set to direct.

There’s no official word on what characters will be featured or what actors might play them, although there are a few longstanding rumors. One of the few things that screenwriter Guillemo del Toro has said in the past is that the film will center on John Constantine, the Master of the Mystic Arts who previously appeared in both a 2005 movie and a 2014 TV series named Constantine.

With two actors having played him in recent memory, and roles for the character on Arrow and in the forthcoming animated film Justice League Dark, what are they going to do to make the character uniquely theirs for Dark Universe? Who might play him?

Well, we’ve got some ideas…!

KEANU REEVES

Okay, let’s get this out of the way first.

The Constantine film in which Reeves appeared was a controversial one: it got generally unfavorable reviews and didn’t do well enough to justify a sequel, but it’s got a really vocal fan base and quickly became one of those movies that everyone talked about as “not as bad as its reputation.”

So if there’s another big-screen John Constantine, there’s a good chance there will be a portion of fandom that wants it to be Reeves, who is still generally considered to be a bankable star, and who now can pass as a “dark, serious” actor more easily becuase of the success of John Wick.

So yeah. He’s on the list. He wouldn’t be my pick, but he wasn’t terrible in the role, he has his supporters, and my editor is one of them.

MATT RYAN

On a similar note, we’ve got Matt Ryan.

I’d love to see Ryan — who played John Constantine on NBC’s short-lived Constantine and is the official John Con of the Arrowverse, having appeared in Arrow during Season Four — reprise his role on the big screen, and even if it’s not likely to happen (that’s just not how DC tends to roll), I don’t blame the #Hellblazers on Twitter for trying to make it happen.

Ryan can next be seen playing the role in Justice League Dark, a direct-to-DVD movie which serves as kind of a proving ground for the Dark Universe concept in the same way Batman: Assault on Arkham did for Suicide Squad.

He had the look down and while some fans groused about the wardrobe or the accent, Ryan’s performance was so good that it won almost everybody over to his side.

COLIN FARRELL

Last one who’s on here for reasons other than “I thought of him.”

Farrell has long been rumored as the studio’s favored pick for John Constantine in the Dark Universe film. It’s hard to know to what extent those rumors have any basis in truth, since for the most part movies don’t start casting before they have a director — and Doug Liman just joined this week — but there are other factors to consider there.

First off, DC characters have, thus far, basically been cast by Zack Snyder, regardless of who was going to direct them in their solo films, as far as we can tell.

Second, this rumor has been alive for so long that, if true, Farrell could have been Guillermo del Toro’s pick from back when he was working on the screenplay with an eye toward directing it himself. If that’s the case, he may or may not have an “in” even with the new director because of that.

JAMIE BELL

Yes, we know: Fantastic Four was terrible.

But so was Daredevil and we’re not only considering Farrell as a legitimate choice for this list, but already gave Ben Affleck a chance at redemption — which he knocked out of the park as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad.

Bell may not be from Liverpool, but if you want a star who’s talented, under forty, blond(ish), male, and from the U.K., your pool gets pretty small. Bell fits the bill, and he’s relatively familiar to U.S. audiences not only from Fantastic Four but also Turn, his AMC series about the American revolution.

And if you watch that show, you know that Bell is a chameleon. He can deliver a powerhouse performance and he’s good either in drama or action. He looks totally different clean-cut versus scraggly, but he’s always got an edge to him — even when he’s trying to be charming. That’s John for you.

WILLIAM MOSELEY

William Moseley, who played Peter in The Chronicles of Narnia movies, is arguably the least likely name on this list. 

He’s appeared in a handful of projects, most of which are arty or “prestige” pictures, and really he hasn’t been challenged to show a darker, edgier side yet.

He is, however, really good in the stuff that he’s in (especially on The Royals), and I think he could probably flex those muscles just fine. He’s also apparently not somebody who takes himself too seriously or gets too precious about things: nestled in between all the hoity-toity roles is a part as Wheeler in the famous Don Cheadle is Captain Planet short.

And, hell, just the LOOK of him is perfect when he’s got a little scruff on him.