Constantine's Lucifer actor Peter Stormare disclosed some new information about why Constantine 2 is taking so long, positing that it is because franchise lead Keanu Reeves is unhappy with the script. A sequel to the 2005 DC Comics movie has been stuck in development hell for years. The last fans heard about the project, Reeves and director Francis Lawrence had pitched a story to DC Studios and were given the green light to pursue writing a script, but no further details have been made public.
In an exclusive interview with The Direct conducted while promoting his 2025 film Stand Your Ground (now available on PVOD), Constantine star Peter Stormare addressed what he has heard about the Keanu Reeves-led DC Comics sequel.
Stormare revealed that it has been "a lot of back and forth" so far and that Reeves "is not so happy with the scripts:"
"It's a lot of back and forth, because... I think Keanu [Reeves], which I know pretty good, is not so happy with the scripts and usually what comes out of the studios... Because the first one wasn't that successful in the beginning, it became a sleeper and became a cult movie, and now it is one of the biggest cult movies ever. But to do a sequel, the studios want to have, you know, cars flying in the air. They want to have people doing flip-flops and fighting action scenes."
Stormare said Keanu has this vision of a movie that is again "about demons and regular people" and has worries about a sequel deviating from that too much:
"And I think Keanu says, 'I've done 'John Wick.' This movie is spiritual. It's about demons and regular people. And I wanted to keep it that way.' And we talked about that. I want to do God coming down exactly the same way, but in a black suit and looking more or less like Lucifer from the first one. I'm 12 years older, so it's going to be hard to, you know, completely imitate the first movie. But, I think from Keanu, he wants to do a sequel that is very close to the first one."
"Keanu is very proud of [this character]," the former Lucifer actor admitted. He said that if they were going to do a sequel, Reeves would continue to make sure it is done in the right circumstances:
"I think Keanu is very proud of that. He was fighting for it to be a character that he loved and wanted to develop. And I mean, with Tilda Swinton doing Gabriel, it is a cool character. And even my Lucifer is a cool character that you can relate to as a viewer... They wanted to dress me up like, you know, like a devil with a tail and a pitchfork and whatever, but we were really fighting for me to have, like, an off-white suit and do it very simple."
"You don't have to add a lot of action and shootouts," Stormare disclosed, and that they can capture audience attention again if they stick to what made the first film work:
"It turns into an action movie, and not like going deeper and deeper into the characters. I think he wants to do his character again, Constantine, as grounded as it was in the first one. It took a long time for you to become a cult movie, it really worked, and it will work on the audience again. You don't have to add a lot of action and shootouts. You have other movies. Don't turn it into big Marvel... [Don't turn it] into us flying around in harnesses all the time and shooting each other up. Don't bring in the big guns. Let it be."
When asked if he had seen these action-heavy scripts, the Constantine star revealed that he hadn't and that it was all "hearsay from [Reeves]" at this point:
"That is just hearsay from him, you know, and it's trying to be very secretive. As we say, both me and him, just do the first movie again and add some other elements, and you have a sequel. 'The Godfather 2' was a sequel that was built on number one. They are similar. You can actually see number one and two together, and they stick together. So, don't do a completely different movie, then it won't hold together. And I think that's where we are, yeah."
A Keanu Reeves-led Constantine sequel has been in development in some form or another since the early 2010s, with director Francis Lawrence being the first person to broach the subject. In the years since, it has slowly started attracting people to it, with Peter Stormare, Reeves, and Lawrence all confirmed to return. In February 2025, it was announced that the team had met with DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran and been given their blessing to pursue writing a Constantine 2 script (which, according to Stormare, remains unfinished).
Will Constantine 2 Happen or Not?
Two decades after the first film's release, a proper Constantine 2 with Keanu Reeves in the lead role feels like it is picking up steam. It is just a matter of getting the right take on the story to satisfy its star and director.
According to Peter Stormare, Reeves has some good points. If the team is going to pick up the Constantine film franchise and blow the dust off of it after 20 years, it has to be worth it and serve as a fitting follow-up.
Right now, the most significant point of contention looks to be maintaining the soul of the first film and not turning a sequel into something the franchise is not.
While Stormare says that this process of passing scripts back and forth has started to perhaps wear on Reeves, if the team can find the right story to tell, it seems more likely than ever that Constantine 2 will happen.
This is a slightly different tune from the one Reeves and co. played just a few years ago. In 2023, the Matrix star was quoted as saying he wanted to make a Constantine 2 but "[didn't] know if it [was] going to happen."
Now, with DC Studios' blessing, it is time to get a script that aligns with Reeves' vision for the character and make it happen. Hopefully, for fans, that process doesn't take as long as it has been, and a second Constantine movie can be put into theaters sooner rather than later.
