A sequel to 2005’s Constantine is finally in development, with filmmaker Francis Lawrence set to direct Keanu Reeves in the role again. For Reeves, this is the end result of years of campaigning to return to the role — first privately, within Warner Bros., and later publicly. Whenever asked, Reeves has said that he would love to revisit Constantine, including a famous interview clip with CBS’s Stephen Colbert, in which Reeves has to convince a surprised Colbert that his name alone wasn’t enough to get a sequel greenlit.
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Now, Reeves is doing a little bit of a victory lap. In a new magazine interview, the actor doesn’t seem quite sure that the movie will actually happen, but it certainly is closer than ever before, and he’s excited to give his version of the DC Comics mystic another try.
“I don’t know if it was unfinished business but it was definitely a role that I loved,” Reeves told Total Film magazine (via Slashfilm). “And I thought that Francis Lawrence, the director, did such amazing work. I loved playing that character, and I really enjoyed the film. I was like, [adopts Oliver Twist voice] ‘Can I please have some more?’”
The first Constantine was derided by hardcore comics fans at the time, but has developed a cult following in the years since its initial release. The film has a 72% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has performed consistently on home video and digital sales and rental online. The film also generated a global box office total of around $250 million on a $100 million budget — which isn’t exactly MCU money, but it’s a tidy profit. Around the same time as Constantine, Warner Bros. released the Halle Berry Catwoman movie, which earned about 1/3 that much from the same production budget.
Constantine 2 was one of the first DC projects announced by Warner Bros. Discovery in 2022. Prior to the announcement, JJ Abrams had been developing a slate of HBO Max originals based on DC’s “dark” characters, but all of those projects, including a rumored series featuring John Constantine, died almost immediately after the Discovery merger.
“It’s exciting. It’s almost like an open playground that we can hopefully cook something up and play in, and I guess get out of the playground and prepare a meal,” Reeves said. “But I’m looking forward to it, and hopefully it can happen. You don’t know how these things go. But I’m definitely going to try my darndest to try and realize that dream.”
There is not yet any official start date for production on Constantine 2, or any planned release window for the film.
