DC Studios executives James Gunn and Peter Safran were unexpectedly ousted earlier this week, leaving the fate of the DCU undecided, but it might mean one canceled DC film has a second chance. Gunn and Safran essentially wiped the slate clean when they were appointed, paving the way for a reboot of the DCEU with fresh stars and new visions. Following the Paramount and Warner Bros. merger, the existing DC Studios leadership was replaced, despite previous assurances that Gunn and Safran were safe, with ex-Marvel Studios exec Jeremy Latcham.
It remains unclear what Latcham plans to do with the DCU and whether another reboot of the cinematic universe will come during his tenure. However, the shift in leadership may be a positive thing, according to one filmmaker.
Constantine director Francis Lawrence, who is in the midst of releasing a new Hunger Games film, has been hoping for a sequel to the Keanu Reeves-led movie for over 20 years. Despite having a script and interest from Reeves in returning, Constantine 2 has failed to materialize, which Lawrence puts down to the consistent changes in leadership at DC and its parent company, Warner Bros.
It seems that the newly formed DC Studios under Gunn and Safran had also passed on the prospect of making a Constantine sequel, with Lawrence telling Collider in an interview that "we have an idea, we have a script" but that "the people that were at DC were an impediment to us making it:"
"Well, I’ll tell you this. Not that I want anybody to lose their jobs, so this is not like a schadenfreude kind of thing, but I will say that we’ve been trying to make Constantine 2 for 20-something years, and we have an idea, and we have a script, and we’ve been wanting to make it, and the people that were at DC were an impediment to us making it."
With the interview taking place shortly after the DC leadership shakeup, Lawrence said they were "more hopeful" following the news that there might be "another opportunity" for Constantine 2. The director said "there's always been obstacles in the road," but that it would now be a case of "getting everybody on board," at DC Studios to make the sequel happen:
"So, we are now more hopeful as of yesterday’s news that maybe now there will be another opportunity. But again, we’ve been trying to make this for 20-something years, and there’s always been obstacles in the road to making it, and it’s not me, it’s not Keanu, it’s not Akiva. J.J. [Abrams] is on it, as well. We all want to do it.
So, it’s really going to be people at Paramount, Warner, whoever’s running DC now, getting everybody on board to say, like, ‘Hey, we can do a sequel of our version of Constantine.'"
Lawrence had previously said in 2023 that they'd suffered setbacks due to the rights to the character of Constantine being shifted, such as when Matt Ryan portrayed the character on the NBC show. The director said they had "tried over the years to wrangle some control of the character again:"
"No, but we’ve had many obstacles. Me, Keanu, Akiva [Goldsman] have tried over the years to wrangle some control of the character again, because it had been handed over. I think NBC did a TV show, and then J.J. [Abrams] was going to try and do something. And then the regime at DC changed, and they’ve got their plans."
It seemed that DC Studios' plans included making their own version of Constantine, as barely a week before Gunn and Safran's dismissal, Deadline reported that a Constantine film was in the works at the studio with Evil Dead: Wrath director Francis Galluppi.
With two potential Constantine projects in the air at DC Studios, it's unclear which has a better chance of happening. Lawrence told Collider that he wasn't fazed by the possibility of another version of Constantine in the DCU, adding that "they can coexist:"
"Personally, I don’t even care if somebody has a plan for some sort of shared universe, and they want to do another version of Constantine. If they just let us do the sequel to our version, they can coexist. So, I have renewed hope as of yesterday that there might be some possibility for forward movement there."
Indeed, DC Studios was happy to have two versions of Batman, with Robert Pattinson's The Batman allowed to continue under the Elseworlds banner, while the DCU looked to introduce its own Batman into its shared universe with The Brave and the Bold. Therefore, there is some credence to Lawrence's hope that Constantine 2 could still exist despite the wider DCU's plans.
Does Constantine 2 Have a Chance at the New DC Studios?
The leadership change at DC Studios has left many projects hanging. DC Studios under Gunn and Safran had a bold 10-year vision with Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters, building toward a shared vision for the DCU while also making room for spin-offs and side projects like The Batman: Part 2 and Clayface.
Given recent news, Constantine seemed to be a part of that plan as well, although not the version Lawrence and Reeves were cooking up, with Gunn and Safran seemingly preventing the sequel from moving forward to focus on a new version. With Latcham now in control, Lawrence may have a chance to revive Constantine 2, although it remains to be seen what the new DC Studios executive plans to do with the DCU and its slate now that he's in control.
Constantine was released during an early era of comic book movies, coming out in the same wave as Superman Returns, Batman Begins, and V for Vendetta. Constantine was ultimately a profitable endeavor, and despite middling reviews, it's gained a dedicated following over the years. Constantine also has the benefit of Keanu Reeves backing the project, who has remained one of Hollywood's bankable A-listers.
Only time will tell whether that's enough for Constantine 2 to get off the ground in this modern era of superhero films.
