A potential revival of the Constantine TV series is reportedly under development on HBO Max. Sources said that this would likely not be tied to the announced Justice League Dark TV series from JJ Abrams.
In 2014, NBC aired a Constantine TV show with Matt Ryan as the occult detective. However, the network canceled the series after one season because it failed to click in the ratings for live airings.
But the show, the actor and his character, had an immense cult following. Despite the cancellation in 2015, Ryan continued to play his iconic character in other DC/Warner Bros Television properties. He is currently a semi-regular in The CW’s Legends of Tomorrow.
Now, Warner Bros reportedly wants to bring back this exorcist for its streaming platform since the fervor hasn’t died down. Whether Ryan will reprise the role is still unknown, but there are also rumors about Keanu Reeves doing a Constantine revival.
Will it be Ryan or Reeves?
Reeves starred as Constantine in the 2005 titular movie with Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, and Tilda Swinton. The actor recently said that he’d like to play the role again if given a chance.
“I just love that world, too, and I love that character,” Reeves said during the Comic-Con At Home event in July. “I just had a blast playing that character and any of that world.”
Following this, rumors circulated that Reeves might reprise the character on Abram’s adaptation of Justice League Dark. Warner Bros announced this adaptation in April 2020 and said that this would be exclusive to the streaming platform.
The actor has been cast
But Ryan also expressed he’d like to continue playing the cult favorite role in whatever production, especially in one that has Abram’s attached.
“I would be very disappointed if a project like that went ahead without even sitting down and seeing what I could do with the material,” Ryan said. The actor revealed that he had read the comic book source of Justice League Dark ever since he found out Guillermo Del Toro wanted to do a film version. That project, however, didn’t pan out.
But in early September, The Cultured Nerd reported that the role of Constantine had been cast. The report also suggested that there will be a new occult detective and it will not be Ryan nor Reeves.
HBO's Constantine has already been cast.
— The Cultured Nerd (@TheCulturedNerd) September 4, 2020
As far as I was told, I can confidently say it is neither of them.
— The Cultured Nerd (@TheCulturedNerd) September 4, 2020
The site wasn’t clear, however, if this casting is for Justice League Dark or a different production altogether. Besides, Abram’s adaptation did not say if it will have Constantine as there are still plenty of characters to highlight on Justice League Dark. So, The Cultured Nerd’s scoop is most likely referring to the Constantine TV series revival on HBO Max.
Image courtesy of The CW Seed/YouTube