It's really great to see how Constantine has become a cult classic over the years. Released in 2005 at a time when supernatural dramas were all the rage, the horror thriller barely acknowledged the fact that it was based on a DC / Vertigo comic book character. Instead of a blonde, foul-mouthed British man in a brown trenchcoat, John Constantine was a suit-wearing American with dark hair played by everyone's favorite actor Keanu Reeves.
Two decades later and a sequel is in development at Warner Bros., with Reeves set to return. The film was announced in 2022 and it was music to fans' ears. Reeves has experienced a career resurgence over the past decade due to the John Wick franchise, so Constantine 2 felt inevitable - especially when you consider its passionate fanbase. And yet, it always felt so far away, too.
It's been nearly three years since the sequel was announced and there haven't been all that many updates... until now, that is.
Constantine 2 "closer than ever" to happening
During a new interview with Collider, Constantine director Francis Lawrence revealed some promising news regarding the sequel, confirming that it is still in development and saying that they are "closer than ever" to finally bringing Constantine 2 to life. He also added that he, star Keanu Reeves, and producer Akiva Goldsman are really excited about the idea that they are working on, commenting:
"I will say we are closer than ever to being able to do a sequel, which is a great thing. And Akiva, Keanu and I are super, super excited about it."
This is undoubtedly the news that fans have been waiting to hear, because once a sequel was confirmed, things went a bit quiet. Obviously that's normal when putting a big-budget comic book movie together, but it has been over two years since the announcement was made - and with all of the changes taking form at DC Studios and Warner Bros. Discovery, it would be understandable if fans were concerned at a lack of updates. They no longer need to be.
It's also obviously great news because Constantine 2 has been a long time coming. Even before the sequel was confirmed to be happening, the franchise never went too far away from the public forum, with its devoted fans campaigning for a sequel. After all, Constantine did relatively well for a comic book movie at a time when there weren't too many superhero movies around. Sure, it never really positioned itself as one, but to think of what a sequel could accomplish in a superhero era like today, especially with the cult following of the original behind it; it could be quite the success story.
The first Constantine movie performed well enough at the box office in 2005, grossing $230 million against a budget of $70 - $100 million, but it never got a sequel. In spite of the film's deviations from the source material, it gained a cult following. Eventually, the explosion of the comic book movie industry (thanks in no small part to the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe) led to more vocal support of a sequel.
Something that might also help the sequel is the fact that John Constantine has become more of a household name in the years since the 2005 movie's release. Of course, we're talking about the comic-accurate version of the Master of the Dark Arts, who headlined his own TV series in 2014 - in which he was portrayed by Matt Ryan, who delivered an incredibly comic-accurate performance. Ryan then reprised the role in The CW's Arrowverse for an episode of Arrow and a series regular spot on DC's Legends of Tomorrow for four seasons.
With Constantine now a more well-known name, the original film's cult following, Keanu Reeves' career resurgence and the success of most comic book properties these days, Constantine 2 has a real chance to be a major success story. Here's hoping that the stars align and that production gets underway in the near future.