‘Constantine 2’ Movie Update: Details, Casting, and More!

Constantine 2 is officially in development. The news has been confirmed by Warner Brothers.

The even better news is that Keanu Reeves and director Francis Lawrence are set to return for the sequel to the 2005 film. The original Constantine was a box office hit, grossing $231 million on its initial $100 million budget. The film featured Reeves in the role of exorcist John Constantine, a character made famous by DC Comics’ Hellblazer.

For those familiar with the character, they know that Constantine is a demon hunter, who has been to Hell and back. Furthermore, he’s destined to return to the fiery pits upon his death. However he’s hopeful that his good deeds will count for something and perhaps change his ultimate destiny. So, in the meantime, Constantine tries to save the world.

The 2005 film also saw him get caught in a battle between the archangel Gabriel (Tilda Swinton) and Lucifer (Peter Stormare).

Constantine 2 Details

While there isn’t a release date scheduled for Constantine 2 just yet (or a known plot). We do know that Akiva Goldsman is writing the screenplay for the sequel. And he’s producing the film through his Weed Road Pictures, alongside J.J. Abrams and Hannah Minghella for Bad Robot.

Keanu Reeves confessed last year that he had wanted to play Constantine again. But a lack of interest from studios had prevented a sequel from coming to fruition.

The original film had also inspired a TV series, Constantine, that ran for one season from 2014 till 2015 on NBC. The Atlanta-filmed series starred Matt Ryan in the titular role. Despite a solid, yet small fanbase, the series probably didn’t help in drumming up studio interest for a second film.

Reeves and Lawrence Have Been Wanting a Sequel

Speaking to talk show host Stephen Colbert, Reeves, 58, said, “I would love to play John Constantine again from the Constantine movie.”

“Are you saying right now that you are willing to play John Constantine on national television right now… that no one will make that movie?” Colbert asked trying to clarify.

“I’ve tried. I’ve tried, Stephen. I would love to.” Keanu replied.

Director Francis Lawrence, who made his directorial debut on the original film, has made similar public statements.

“I think we all wanted to do it. It was successful enough. We wanted to make a responsible, R-rated movie.” Lawerence has said.

“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,” he added. “We worked on the sequel for a while. It was tricky to come up with where to take it.”

Right now, IMDB Pro marks the project as being in the script phase of development. However, the site also lists Peter Stormare under cast, implying that he will return as well to reprise his role as Lucifer.

We’ll keep you posted as more Constantine 2 surfaces!