Plans for Constantine 2 fulfil director Francis Lawrence’s original plan for the first film, but why is it taking so long to make a Keanu Reeves sequel?

Keanu Reeves’ Constantine Part 2 has received a new update after keeping us in suspense for so long about the DC project. A teaser has also been released about the potential look and content of the alleged sequel.

Constantine is the hero of a DC Vertigo comic book series that ran for a decade under the title Hellblazer, but Constantine himself has also ‘guest starred’ in other comics. A feature film adaptation was made in 2005, starring Keanu Reeves as John Constantine, a confident man and cynical expert in dark magic. The film, laced with supernatural horror, received mixed reviews but quickly gained a cult following among audiences and tripled its production budget at the box office. Reeves, for his part, seemed to enjoy the experience and has said he would love to star in a Constantine sequel.

There has since been a Constantine TV series, Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, starring Matt Ryan as Edward Kenway (who looked more like the original Constantine with his blond hair, looks and even more laid-back, cynical style), but it flopped after two seasons (although we thought it was pretty good), to the point where it seemed to have buried Ryan’s career, because we haven’t seen much else of the actor in a leading role since.

But back to Keanu Reeves’ performance: for the first time since the actor joined the Constantine sequel announced by Warner Bros, fans are getting an important update on the status of the sequel, and it’s good news. Speaking to GameSpot about the sequel, director Francis Lawrence offered some insight into the film’s progress. He also commented on why Constantine 2 is taking so long to make.

“Constantine 2 was obviously held back because of the writers’ strike. And we had to jump over a lot of hurdles to take control of the character again because the Vertigo stuff was in other people’s hands. We’re in control. Keanu, Akiva Goldsman and I have been having meetings and figuring out what we think about the story, and more of those meetings need to happen – the script needs to be written – but we’re really hoping to do Constantine 2 and make a proper R-rated version of it.”

The idea of R-rated comic book movies is in vogue, with Marvel most recently moving towards R-rated Daredevil, for example. Lawrence has previously talked about the ideal rating, and lamented the 2005 project that deliberately withheld the Mature rating. “One of the biggest things for me about the first film was that Warner Bros. said we followed the rules to make a PG-13 film in terms of violence, gore, language and sexuality. But the ratings committee gave us a hard R based on the gray area of intensity,” Lawrence told The Wrap last November. “And I was very, very sorry that we had an R-rated film that was actually a PG-13 film. And if I had to make an R-rated movie, I would have made a really R-rated movie. I would have made it a lot scarier and a lot more violent and really made an R-rated movie.”

In light of the upcoming reboot of the cinematic universe, some may be wondering what Reeves’ Constantine might bring to the new DCU. The answer to that question is irrelevant, however, as the Elseworld label would be the perfect setting for the cynical expert on dark magic.

The original Constantine is currently streaming on Max.

Source : GameRant