Keanu Reeves’ Constantine 2 will need to be special to get made, as I’m convinced DC’s latest update is connected to the film’s status. 2005’s Constantine was not a box office hit, but over the years, the movie has managed to find a cult following. While I’m a bigger fan of Matt Ryan’s more comic book-accurate version of John Constantine in his solo series and the Arrowverse, it is undeniable that Reeves presented an interesting take on the character and fully dedicated himself to the role.
The actor has spent several years trying to get a Constantine sequel greenlit, and it is finally now in development, with Constantine 2‘s story being worked on before it can truly move forward at DC. The project would be part of DC’s Elseworlds movies, which exist in separate continuities in relation to James Gunn’s DC Universe. That said, I have long been worried about whether the film could truly happen despite the Elseworlds label helping it, and now we seem to have received an update on what exactly Constantine 2 needs.
James Gunn Described A DC Movie That Is Facing Issues & What Needs To Happen
DC Elseworlds Movies Will Have To Meet A High Bar To Get Produced
Recently, James Gunn commented on a DC movie pitch, and I firmly believe it is related to Constantine 2. With his Superman movie coming up, Gunn is addressing the future of the franchise in the press tour. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, the DC Studios co-CEO dropped an interesting nugget of information about a mysterious Elseworlds project. According to Gunn, a “very, very, very famous movie actor” pitched him an Elseworlds movie, and the director revealed what it needed for the film to happen. Check out the full quote below:
So there’s definitely room for people to tell other stories…And when it’s somebody who’s important, like Matt Reeves — who I’ve had an admiration for a long time as one of the very, very few filmmakers who is out there making spectacle, commercial fair, that is also an artist — then you have to stand up and listen. The script still needs to be good. We’re not going to make it unless we like the script. But I think that there are exceptions. I told it to one person who came in and pitched something that was an Elseworlds tale. It was a very, very, very famous movie actor. I said, “It depends on how the screenplay comes out…If it’s a masterpiece, I’ll make it, but it has to be a masterpiece.” [Laughs] And he is like, “I don’t know if it’s a masterpiece.” He got all funny. He’s still working on it, though. He is still trying to do it, so we’ll see. Masterpiece might be pushing it, but it’s got to be really great.
If it’s an Elseworlds tale, then it’s worth telling something that might tend to confuse a few people. But also part of our thing is really being clear about what is Elseworlds and what is DCU. And the other thing is not just giving away properties like they’re party favors to people doing low-budget TV shows or stuff that we have no quality control over because we’re making a few thousand dollars on the rights. It is having some sense of quality control over everything.
According to Gunn, the unnamed movie star in question learned that their DC idea could become a movie if the screenplay is top-notch, saying, “If it’s a masterpiece, I’ll make it, but it has to be a masterpiece.” Gunn then revealed that the movie star in question did not feel like the script was on that level yet, so he went back to the drawing board and is continuing to work on it. I’m convinced that movie is Constantine 2 and the star is Keanu Reeves for one key reason.
Keanu Reeves Is Reportedly Unhappy With Constantine 2’s Script
The DC Elseworlds Movie Is Still In Development
Keanu Reeves is an actor who would fall in line with Gunn’s description of a very famous movie star who pitched an Elseworlds movie to DC. With the John Wick films and the resurrection of The Matrix franchise in the past decade, Reeves is once again an in-demand actor. Additionally, Gunn’s comments about how said star did not feel like the movie’s script was a masterpiece, and so did not meet the high bar raised by Gunn, connect to the latest Constantine 2 updates.
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In May, Constantine‘s Lucifer star, Peter Stormare, addressed the status of the sequel, revealing that Keanu Reeves was unhappy with Constantine 2’s script. According to the actor, Reeves wants Constantine 2 to be close to the first movie, whereas the studio wants there to be more exciting set pieces in the film to make up for the fact that 2005’s Constantine was not a hit. That back and forth and Reeves’ alleged unhappiness with the script perfectly fit Gunn’s latest DC comments, so Constantine 2 feels like the movie the director says has to be a masterpiece to be made.
Keanu Reeves’ Constantine 2 Could Not Happen If It Does Not Meet The Huge Bar James Gunn Set For It
As it stands, I believe that Constantine 2 has a hard road ahead of it. James Gunn’s DC Studios has shown that when a phenomenal script appears, a project that was not part of the plan can be incorporated. That was the case for Mike Flanagan’s Clayface script, with the Batman villain movie recently casting its lead and on track for its September 11, 2026, release date. As such, despite its Elseworlds status making things a bit different, Constantine 2 can still happen if the script is “a masterpiece.”
I worry that, since Reeves has issues with the Constantine 2 script, the sequel could end up not happening. That said, it is good to know that, were the film to happen, it would mean that Keanu Reeves’ Constantine 2 idea was so exciting that Gunn signed off on the Elseworlds tale. While Gunn’s words are demanding, they create a high bar for the potential DC movie, and as long as things work out, it should lead to the very best version of Constantine 2 there could be.
