Constantine 2 is officially in development. The news was confirmed by Warner Brothers.
The even better news is that Keanu Reeves and director Francis Lawrence are set to return for the sequel to the 2005 film. The original Constantine was a box office hit, grossing $231 million off its original $100 million budget. The film starred Reeves as exorcist John Constantine, a character made famous by DC Comics. hellblazer.
For those familiar with the character, they know that Constantine is a demon hunter, who went to hell and back. Additionally, he is destined to return to the Burning Pits when he dies. However, he hopes his good deeds will count for something and perhaps change his ultimate fate. So, in the meantime, Constantin tries to save the world.
The 2005 film also saw him get caught up in a battle between Archangel Gabriel (Tilda Swinton) and Lucifer (Peter Stormare).
Constantine 2 Details
Although there is no slated release date for Constantine 2 for now (or a known plot). We know that Akiva Goldsman is writing the screenplay for the sequel. And he’s producing the film through his Weed Road Pictures, alongside JJ Abrams and Hannah Minghella for Bad Robot.
Keanu Reeves admitted last year that he wanted to play Constantine again. But a lack of interest from studios had prevented a sequel from materializing.
The original film had also inspired a television series, Constantine, which ran for one season from 2014 to 2015 on NBC. The Atlanta-filmed series starred Matt Ryan in the lead role. Despite a solid but small fan base, the series probably didn’t help spark studio interest in a second film.
Reeves and Lawrence wanted a sequel
Speaking to talk show host Stephen Colbert, Reeves, 58, said: “I would love to play John Constantine from the movie Constantine again.”
“Are you saying you’re ready to play John Constantine on national TV right now…that nobody’s going to make that movie?” Colbert asked trying to clarify.
“I tried. I tried, Stephen. I would love to.” Keanu replied
Director Francis Lawrence, who made his directorial debut on the original film, made similar public statements.
“I think we all wanted to do it. It was quite successful. We wanted to make a responsible and R-rated film. Lawrence said.
“By responsible, I mean we would make a movie that wouldn’t cost as much as the original, which we thought was PG-13,” he added. “We worked on the sequel for a while. It was difficult to find where to take it.
At present, IMDB Pro marks the project as being in the script development phase. However, the site also lists Peter Stormare under casting, implying that he will also return to reprise his role as Lucifer.
We’ll keep you posted as we go. Constantine 2 surface !
