Joey
After seventeen years, Keanu Reeves is stepping back into the role of the trenchcoat-wearing demonologist, John Constantine.
According to Deadline, Warner Bros. is officially developing a sequel to 2005’s Constantine, that will see Reeves re-teaming with director Francis Lawrence.
Akiva Goldsman is set to develop the screenplay and will also be producing the project through his Weed Road Pictures.
This is not the first screenplay written by Goldsman to feature a DC comic character. Goldsman previously developed the scripts for Batman Forever and Batman & Robin.
Goldsman will be producing along with Bad Robot’s J.J. Abrams and Hannah Minghella.
The character of John Constantine first appeared in June of 1985, in Swamp Thing #37, and was originally from Liverpool.
Reeve’s version saw the occultist relocated to America, and as a man bound for Hell after he committed suicide in his teens. Although he was later revived, his soul will be condemned to Hell when he dies.
The film follows Constantine, as he helps a policewoman prove her twin sister’s death was not a suicide, but something more. As he begins to look into her death, he discovers that forces from both Heaven and Hell are attempting to bring about the end of the world.
In the final moments of the film, Constantine sacrifices his life for another, which earns him a place in Heaven. Before he can ascend, Lucifer interferes and restores Constantine to life, believing that time will prove that Constantine belongs in Hell.
Now is finally our chance to see if his place is in Heaven, or if Hell is still his destiny.
Reeves is not the only actor to portray the chain-smoking demonologist on screen, in recent years Matt Ryan played the character in the short-lived 2014 television series.
Ryan’s version also saw the character return to his English roots.
After the cancelation of the series, Ryan’s version of Constantine found its way over to the CW, where he appeared on Arrow, The Flash, and even became a series regular on Legends of Tomorrow.
Along with portraying Constantine on screen, Ryan has also lent his voice to the character for Constantine: City of Demons, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, and even on an episode of Harley Quinn.
In the wake of the announcement of the upcoming sequel, Variety also reported that the planned Constantine series for HBO Max is “now dead.”
