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Constantine is getting a sequel over 17 years later

Constantine

The rumors and wishes have been circulating for a while but according to Deadline, 2005’s Constantine is getting a sequel. The film will re-team Keanu Reeves and director Francis Lawrence. The original was Lawrence’s debut film as director.

Akiva Goldsman will write the screenplay and produce the film alongside J.J. Abrams and Hannah Minghella.

Constantine was released in 2005 and went on to earn $230.9 million worldwide on a $100 million budget. It was generally considered not a success when originally released but has gone on to build a cult following.

Reeves plays the main character Constantine, based on the DC Comics character. Constantine is a supernatural exorcist/demonologist who has made his own deals with devils. The character has been depicted in numerous media beyond comics. Matt Smith portrayed the character on television on multiple shows and voiced the character in animated films. A new Constantine television series was also in the works for HBO Max also from J.J. Abrams. Variety reports that project is dead due to this film but may be resurrected down the road somewhere else.

The announcement is particularly interesting as Warner Bros. Discovery has been in a bit of a shuffle shelving projects and looking for someone to oversee the DC division. The company has talked about a 10 year plan, it’s unclear where this falls in that.

Ava DuVernay’s New Gods and Games Wan’s The Trench Not Moving Forward

DC Logo

The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop that Warner Bros. has shelved two of its upcoming, and high-profile, films based on DC properties. Ava DuVernay‘s New Gods and James Wan‘s The Trench are not going forward at this time.

In a statment, Warner Bros. and DC said:

As part of our DC slate, some legacy development titles including New Gods and The Trench will not be moving forward. We thank our partners Ava DuVernay, Tom King, James Wan and Peter Safran for their time and collaboration during this process and look forward to our continued partnership with them on other DC stories. The projects will remain in their skillful hands if they were to move forward in the future.

New Gods was a take on the classic Jack Kirby characters with DuVernay directing and working with comic writer Tom King. The film has been in development since 2018. DuVernay is working on the television series Naomi based on the DC character which will air on The CW.

The Trench was a spin-off from the blockbuster Aquaman. The horror-tinged film featured Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald on the script with Wan developing as producer with Peter Safran. Wan is still working on Aquaman 2 which will begin shooting later this year.

While these two projects have been shelved for now, they may happen down the road. It is believed the issue is there was no “natural” place to release the films in the current upcoming plans.

DC is currently focused on a multi-platform approach with films like The Suicide Squad and The Batman bleeding over into television with the HBO Max series Peacemaker and a show focused on the Gotham police department.

DC is still focused on creating a film universe with The Flash, tackling the DC multiverse, being key to what comes next. Upcoming films include Black Adam, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and projects featuring Blue Beetle, Batgirl, Supergirl, Static Shock, and Green Lantern Corps. There’s also the third Wonder Woman film, newly announced Zatanna, and Superman film produced by J.J. Abrams and written by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Around the Tubes

John Constantine: Hellblazer #3

It was new comic book day yesterday! What’d everyone get? What’d you like? What’d you dislike? Sound off in the comments below! While you think about that, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web in our morning roundup.

Newsarama – Kodansha USA Names New CEO/President, CCO, Publisher, Senior Marketing Director – Congrats to all!

Newsarama – Rosario Dawson Nabs Lead Role for HBO Max’s DMZ – Report – Interesting casting.

The Beat – Report: JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot working on a series of Justice League Dark films and tv shows – This has been worked on forever. We’ll believe it when we see it.

The Beat – Annie Koyama announces Koyama Press Provides grant program – Great idea.

Reviews

Newsarama – Batman #87
The Beat – Best of 2000 AD #1
Comics Bulletin – John Constantine: Hellblazer #3
Comics Bulletin – Protector #1