Supernatural’s status as one of the absolute best fantasy horror stories about monster hunters remains unbeaten, but in 2014, there was a show that had the potential to shake things up. Ever since Supernatural began airing in 2005 on The CW, it captivated audiences and drew them into a world of monsters, hunting, and epic fantasy adventures.
However, Supernatural wasn’t the first project to explore these kinds of themes, with many comic books diving deep into similar subjects for decades before Supernatural arrived. Regardless, Supernatural managed to bring these ideas to a much wider audience, and successfully take a challenging medium and turn it into a hit TV series that managed to run for 15 seasons before the cast and crew eventually decided to move on from the project.
But, in 2014, six years before Supernatural aired their last episode, the best hope for a replacement came to NBC before it was unfortunately canceled after just one season. Of course, this series was Constantine, an adaptation of the DC stories by the same name following the supernatural exorcist who hunts down demons and monsters, John Constantine.
Constantine Deserved More Love
<<img src="https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DC-Comics-Arrowverse-Matt-Ryan-as-John-Constantine.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2" />
</figure>
Constantine began life as a comic book series by legendary comic book writer Alan Moore, alongside Stephen R. Bissette and John Totleben, who helped to bring the character to life on the pages of DC Comics. With his first appearance in 1985, where he showed up in an issue of Swamp Thing, John Constantine was thrown into the world of the supernatural from the start.
While he remained a decently popular character in the comics, and eventually led his own comic book series, the popularity of the character really began to excel in 2005, when a movie starring Keanu Reeves as the titular demon detective arrived in theaters. As much as the movie resonated with audiences and led to an outcry for the story to continue, with talks continuing to this day about a Constantine 2, the fate of the character appeared halted.
So, when Constantine arrived on TV in 2014, with Matt Ryan in the leading role, it was a massive moment for fans of the comics and character. And despite largely positive reviews and a fresh take on an underrated character, the show never made it past the initial 13-episode run. This is a huge tragedy for fans, and a disappointing result for a character that deserves so much more, but Matt Ryan’s work wasn’t done yet.
Matt Ryan Was Perfectly Cast As John Constantine
As outstanding as Keanu Reeves is in every project he attaches himself to, Matt Ryan brought something special to the role of Constantine that ensured the source material was respected, while still positioning the story in an updated setting. Constantine is a rough and ready paranormal investigator from Liverpool, and Ryan captured this detail spectacularly.
This is further emphasized by the fact that Ryan was brought back to play the character multiple times after the series was canceled. In addition to appearing in the Arrowverse’s Arrow series in 2015, shortly after his debut season aired, Ryan returned twice more in Batwoman and The Flash in 2019, as well as a recurring role in Legends of Tomorrow, where he became a prominent part of the show for 63 episodes.
While the live-action credits eventually dried up with the death of the Arrowverse, Matt Ryan was also brought back numerous times to reprise the role of Constantine in animated DC projects, including Harley Quinn in 2022, and two of the Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earth’s animated feature films in 2024.
All things considered, it’s clear that Matt Ryan was the perfect casting for Constantine, and the fact that his own solo show was laid to rest so early in its run is a tragedy. Perhaps the character can come back from the dead and find a way to continue his story as seen in recent years, but until then, the 13 episodes of Constantine will have to suffice.
Discover more from NAIRAVOICE.COM.NG
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
