While I was away on a rare vacation, there was an earthquake in Hollywood. James Gunn and Peter Safran were axed from DC Studios. Some politely report they “stepped down”, but let’s be honest: they were fired by the incoming Paramount/Skydance regime. They are being replaced by Jeremy Latcham, a former Marvel exec who was instrumental to the MCU’s early success. Ripple effects from this were to be expected. One of them could be Keanu Reeves returning for Constantine 2. In fact, director Francis Lawrence is counting on it.
Lawrence could barely contain himself in an interview with Collider. He was practically bursting with glee that Gunn was canned, and all but called him “an impediment” to the chances of a Constantine sequel moving forward…
“Not that I want anybody to lose their jobs… We have a script, we’ve been wanting to make it, and the people that were at DC were an impediment to us making it. So, we are now more hopeful as of yesterday’s news that maybe now there will be another opportunity.”
Lawrence has been wanting to make this movie for so long, and came close until Gunn and Safran put it on the shelf. Warner Bros. tried to walk it back, but the damage was clearly done.
Constantine is more than twenty years old at this point. It remains one of Reeves’ most popular roles, and was a surprising $230M hit at the time. But other than Guillermo Del Toro nearly making a Justice League Dark movie, and the character’s TV run as part of the Arrowverse, there is little buzz for a sequel other than from the dwindling comics base. Doubtful the Ellisons will waste money on it, except maybe to cozy up to Reeves.
