Home Entertainment Constantine director Francis Lawrence and Keanu Reeves still want to make a Hellblazer sequel

Constantine director Francis Lawrence and Keanu Reeves still want to make a Hellblazer sequel

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Thanks to recent a string of successful films and memes, Keanu Reeves is currently the internet’s adoration magnet that everybody wants a part of. Which is why he’s experiencing a resurgence in big-screen roles, after years spent in more obscure films after his success in the Matrix trilogy.

One of those studios that’s eager to work with him is Marvel, which has reportedly reached out to him numerous times, but with no luck thus far. It’s not that Reeves is averse to comic book roles though, as back in 2005 he starred as DC Comics’ John Constantine in the Francis Lawrence directed Constantine. That movie wasn’t well-received by critics on launch, especially considering the big changes that it made from the source material. Many people though, despite these changes, at least enjoyed Reeves in the role as the occult detective and as a result, it’s become a bit of a cult hit with many fans wishing for a sequel. The complication though is there was a Constantine TV show a few years back that may have only lasted a single season, but saw star Matt Ryan launched into superstardom for his portrayal as the “Hellblazer”, who then went on to co-star in several Arrowverse series.

There have been some recent reports though that JJ Abrahams is producing a new Constantine movie, with some rumours suggesting Keanu’s Constantine is involved. It appears more likely though that the film is big screen a reboot rather than a continuation or sequel to the 2005 film. A new interview with Francis for /Film reveals though that they initially did have a meeting around a sequel to his film and that even though the rights have since moved on, he would love to get a chance to make that sequel, provided Reeves was up for the role:

I think we all wanted to do it. It was successful enough. We wanted to make a responsible, more R-rated movie. By responsible, I mean we’d make a movie that wouldn’t cost quite as much as the original, which we thought was going to be PG-13. We worked on the sequel for a while. We have been talking about it recently. It’s always stuck with all of us because we all love the movie, and especially realizing there’s a real cult following for this movie, it’d be fun to make. Keanu and I have actually talked about it.

Unfortunately, I don’t even remember who has it, but with all these shared universes that exist now, with Constantine being a part of Vertigo, which is a part of DC, people have plans for these shared universes. You know, possibly different Constantines and things like that. Right now, we don’t have that character available to us for TV or movies, which is a bummer. We all investigated it, but I think it’s kind of crazy when you have Keanu, who would love to do another Constantine, and us wanting to do another Constantine, and people are like, ‘Uh, no, we got other plans.’ We’ll see what happens.

I doubt this will ever happen, but it would be interesting to see what they do with Constantine if they do get the Hollywood nod movie. I’m not a massive fan of that first Constantine movie, as I felt the story was a little muddled and didn’t really make good use of the character, but an approach which allows them to explore some of the darker elements and isn’t trying to be a big special effects-laden blockbuster does sound like a winner to me. And with Reeves starring, people will probably flock to cinemas to see it.

Last Updated: July 17, 2020

12 Comments

  1. Original Heretic

    July 17, 2020 at 11:22

    Fun as the original movie was, we need a more accurate version of John Constantine, like he is currently being portrayed by Matt Ryan.
    He’s owning the character. I’m going to be very sad seeing someone else play the role.

    Reply

    • Son of Banana Jim

      July 17, 2020 at 12:35

      You really can’t fault Matt Ryan’s Constantine. The guy was made to play that role.

      Reply

  2. Llama In The Rift

    July 17, 2020 at 11:25

    • Kervyn Cloete

      July 17, 2020 at 12:06

      It’s a great movie. It’s a kak adaptation.

      Reply

      • Kenn Gibson

        July 17, 2020 at 21:32

        exactly.

        Reply

    • Son of Banana Jim

      July 17, 2020 at 12:29

      It’s actually gotten better with age, or maybe recent movies have just been so absolutely dismal. It’s one of those movies (like back to the future, predator etc.) that you can rewatch almost on a yearly basis, and still enjoy to its fullest.

      Reply

      • Llama In The Rift

        July 17, 2020 at 13:52

        That’s what i tend to do, once a month ill check up on some old classics and rewatch them, might be the nostalgic effect but i get more enjoyment out of them rather than new movies released, granted not all new movies are bad but it’s scarce that i find something that will pique my interest…Constantine was one of those movies that just hit all the buttons back when i was a teen, never knew he was part of the DC universe or the lore behind him, was a movie on M-Net and i loved it.

        Reply

        • BradeLunner

          July 17, 2020 at 16:10

          I feel you, I think it’s a sign of getting older where you mostly listen to your favorite songs, because time is tight and you don’t have time to spend on average

          Reply

  3. justlikemo

    July 17, 2020 at 12:02

    Finally! Thank you

    Reply

  4. Son of Banana Jim

    July 17, 2020 at 12:21

    It’s a good thing Keanu doesn’t age. I say give us a Hellblazer sequel.

    Reply

  5. MechMachine

    July 17, 2020 at 12:40

    I loved Keanu’s version. There were a few cringe moments, actually no. The only cringe part was that scene with the coin in Rachel Weisz’s fist. I loved the ending where he got so heavy he physically couldn’t be dragged to hell. Having said that, I am not familiar with the comics.

    Reply

    • Son of Banana Jim

      July 17, 2020 at 17:36

      To think for a 15 year old movie, it can still hold its own.

      Reply

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