Another day, another potentially huge development for the resurgent DCEU. Following the recent confirmation that J.J. Abrams would be spearheading a Justice League Dark show, something we told you about months ago, one of the team’s most famous faces is also set to be rebooted with the Rise of Skywalker director at the helm.
Since first being released to moderate critical and commercial success fifteen years ago, Constantine has gained a second life as a cult favorite among fans of the comic book genre, despite the liberties that the movie took with the source material. Star Keanu Reeves has always been game for a return, and with the actor’s popularity at an all-time high, the idea of him playing a chain-smoking detective working in the realm of the occult seems like a license to print money.
It hasn’t been officially confirmed yet whether or not Warner Bros. will approach Reeves to reprise the role in the reboot, but we’ve heard from our sources – the same ones that told us about said reboot months ago, before the news broke yesterday – that the cinematic version of John Constantine will maintain the character’s bisexuality. As will the version seen in HBO Max’s Justice League Dark show.
Who will play the character in the aforementioned series remains to be seen, of course, but Arrowverse Constantine Matt Ryan has already voiced his desire to return, and he previously voiced the role in the animated Justice League Dark: Apokolips War when fans went wild at the revelation that he’d hooked up with King Shark in the past. But the 2015 movie shied away from that particular aspect of his personality.
With society in general currently in the midst of a huge push for increased diversity and representation though, it would appear that Warner Bros. are keen to double down on following suit by having both their cinematic and HBO Max versions of Constantine be much more faithful to the character’s comic book history, which is something that the comic book genre as a whole looks to be fully embracing.