Keanu Reeves’ Most Anticipated Sequel Is Saved From Cancellation
Despite the online rumors that swirled, Keanu Reeves and Constantine 2 are moving forward at Warner Bros.
One of the more depressing things about Warner Bros. merging with Discovery is that it led to the cancellation of many projects, including a nearly completed Batgirl. And once James Gunn began making bold cuts to upcoming projects, we even lost our chance to get a Batman Beyond movie that would have had Michael Keaton reprising the role of Bruce Wayne as an older mentor to a younger hero. All these cancellations made Keanu Reeves fans think we might not get a Constantine 2, but we finally have good news on that front: according to Entertainment Weekly, a Warner Bros. spokesperson confirmed that plans for this belated sequel have not been scrapped.
Back when it was first announced, the original Constantine movie seemed doomed to failure. It was meant to be an adaptation of the comics made popular by legendary writers like Alan Moore, but the studio controversially decided to have the titular British character be played by Keanu Reeves, who made no attempt to sound British (he presumably learned his lesson after doing the world’s worst English accent in Bram Stoker’s Dracula). And back when Keanu Reeves was mostly known for The Matrix, it was unclear whether he could accurately bring the character to life, but he did such a good job that fans have been clamoring for a Constantine 2 for nearly 18 years.
What’s not yet clear is where Keanu Reeves and his Constantine 2 movie will fit into the brave and bold new world that James Gunn is trying to create with the DCU. For example, he has already clarified that certain movies will be part of the connected continuity (such as the upcoming Superman: Legacy and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow) and which will be “Elseworlds” films that are in their own standalone universes (like the upcoming sequels to Joker and The Batman). Constantine 2 is likely to be weird enough that it may get the Elseworlds treatment, though since Swamp Thing is getting his own horror story that is simultaneously outside of the DCU but connected to it in an as-yet-unknown way, there is a possibility that he will intersect with Constantine in some way (what with them both being on the spookier mystical side of this comic book universe).
Another reason to be skeptical about Keanu Reeves becoming a reoccurring DCU character is that the actor may not want to commit to very many projects beyond Constantine 2. While the actor has been remarkably game about returning to the roles that made him famous, these typically aren’t multi-film commitments. For example, Reeves returned for exactly one more Bill and Ted movie and exactly one more Matrix movie, so this might be him returning for exactly one more Constantine movie.
Still, considering that we’re still waiting to hear official casting announcements for most of the upcoming DC movies and television shows, it’s exciting to have a name as big as Keanu Reeves attached to an upcoming movie like Constantine 2. It shows that James Gunn and the other powers that be understand the importance of blending in better-known actors like Reeves with rising stars who audiences are less familiar with. And right now, all we can hope is that Warner Bros. is able to do what the Constantine of comics and film always could: bring that old magic back in an explosive way.
