Keanu Reeves’ DC Character Sets New Movie Despite Long-Delayed Sequel

Keanu Reeves may not be the only Hellblazer in the near future.

It has been more than two decades since the beloved Matrix actor brought John Constantine to life on the big screen, as the DC horror installment grew a cult following, which has led to a potential sequel currently in the works. However, while the Constantine 2 movie was recently revealed in a new update to still be in development following Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount’s Skydance merger, another iteration of the character may be on its way.

According to Deadline, a new Constantine movie is in early development, with Evil Dead Wrath’s Francis Galluppi set to write the script. The trade has not noted whether the film, which DC Studios have yet to officially comment on, is meant to be set in James Gunn’s DC Universe franchise, similar to Reeves’ incarnation, or an Elseworlds property.

The Galluppi-penned feature and the follow-up to Reeves’ 2005 entry are now joining a list of several attempts to get another solo project for the Alan Moore-creation. While short-lived, Matt Ryan brought the famous occult detective to life in NBC’s Constantine TV show, which got canceled after only one season. However, his version got to live on through The CW’s Arrowverse franchise, leading him to also become a series regular on Legends of Tomorrow for several seasons.

However, Warner Bros. Discovery was also attempting to get a new live-action series for John when J.J. Abrams was developing his Justice League Dark-centric franchise, which would have consisted of HBO Max shows and theatrical films based on supernatural players in the DC canon. Guy Bolton got tapped to write the show and was close to having tapped its lead star, with four scripts having been produced, according to Variety in 2022. But once Reeves’ sequel was announced to be in the works, the streaming project was scrapped.

The Justice League Dark concept also never got its chance to come to fruition, as Abrams’ Bad Robot production company had a Zatanna feature from Emerald Fennell, and a Madame X series for DC’s Madame Xanadu from Angela Robinson. Despite the overall deal he had with Warner Bros. Discovery, Abrams’ DC projects didn’t go forward.

The reveal that DC Studios is in the early days on a new Constantine film is coming only weeks after James Watkins’ Clayface horror movie was released in theaters, with the Batman villain’s big-screen debut having a modest success at the box office as part of the DCU’s Chapter 1: “Gods and Monsters” slate. As of writing, it has grossed $90.5 million worldwide, after being produced on a reported $30-44 million budget.

The Tom Rhys Harries-starring film, which is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with 78%, based on 218 submitted reviews, while having a 94% audience score, making it one of the most well-received installments for the DCU. It’s possible that Clayface played a role in some capacity in DC Studios looking to develop more DC properties in the horror genre. If Constantine ends up being part of Gunn’s continuity, it would be fitting, as James Mangold’s Swamp Thing is still being written, and he is set to direct it if it goes forward.

If there is a scenario where Swamp Thing happens alongside the Constantine reboot in the DCU, not only does it fit the “Gods and Monsters” theme of Chapter 1, but it could perhaps be the DC Studios era that finally gets to explore the Justice League Dark team in live-action. The bigger mystery, however, is whether or not Reeves’ continuation would still happen if Galluppi’s film gets fully greenlit. It’s definitely possible that they can coexist, given that Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe is still running under the Elseworlds banner while the reboot in Gunn’s franchise is still being worked on.