Before going all-in with
expansive shared cinematic universes, major movie studios approached superhero
filmmaking with the idea of following just one hero (or one team) across several
sequels or one-off productions, depending on their box office clout. Popular superhero
characters can see multi-picture deals like “Spider-Man” or “X-Men” for Marvel,
and “Batman” for DC. Others might get only a one-and-done like 2005’s “Constantine”,
based on DC’s “Hellblazer”. The movie starred Keanu Reeves as the titular
cynical bounty hunter treading the living world between Heaven and Hell. After
several animated appearances and even a one-season live-action series, John Constantine
is coming back to the big screen, with Reeves in tow too.
Deadline tells us that Warner
Bros. Pictures are looking to develop a sequel to their 2005 supernatural
superhero film “Constantine”. To do so, they are reuniting original director
Francis Lawrence and star Keanu Reeves, to work on a screenplay by Akiva
Goldsman, who is co-producing with J.J. Abrams via their respective labels Weed
Road Pictures and Bad Robot Productions. Announcement of “Constantine 2” comes
about 17 years following the premiere of the original, which made some $200
million in the global box office well before emerging superhero cinematic universes
began routinely breaking the billion-dollar mark.
The return of John Constantine to
live-action has been a dream for many comic-book fans of “Hellblazer”, given
that the character has risen to become one of the pillars of the supernatural
side of the DC superhero multiverse. Warner Bros. Pictures co-chairpersons
Michael de Luca and Pam Abdy look to finally help Constantine fans scratch that
silver-screen itch, particularly as interpreted by Reeves. A Goldsman screenplay
is also a matter of interest, given that he is a DC superhero veteran with
credits for the Joel Schumacher “Batman” movies among others. He also co-developed
the “Titans” streaming series on HBO Max.
“Constantine” and its source
comic “Hellblazer” follows John Constantine, an occult detective and exorcist.
In the first movie, Constantine is a cynic driven by how his ability to see
supernatural phenomenon and beings led him to commit suicide in his teenage
years. Although miraculously resurrected at the time, the fact that he killed
himself meant he was doomed to go to Hell if he should die again. Nevertheless,
he strives to do the right thing even if his methods are questionable. There is
no further information yet on the sequel, and when it might release.
Image courtesy of Hollywood
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