It's Officially The End Of An Era For The Arrowverse
The news that there are not one, but two new Constantine movies reportedly in the works means that Matt Ryan’s underrated Arrowverse take on the Alan More character will soon no longer be the most recent screen version of the iconic antihero. Based on DC’s Hellblazer comic book series, 2005’s Constantine starred Keanu Reeves as the eponymous dour demon slayer, an exorcist cursed with the ability to communicate, and fight, with both angels and demons alike.
With slick direction from future I Am Legend director Francis Lawrence and an incredible cast that included Djimon Hounsou, Shia LaBeouf, Tilda Swinton, Peter Stormare, and The Mummy franchise’s Rachel Weisz as the title character’s femme fatale love interest, Constantine was an early R-rated comic book movie that did justice to co-creators Stephen R. Bissette and Alan Moore’s character. However, although Constantine 2 is set to happen eventually, it is not the definitive screen take on the character.
Matt Ryan was cast as John Constantine in 2014’s NBC series Constantine, a dark thriller that took Supernatural‘s fun and From Dusk Til Dawn’s edge to make a memorably creepy comic book adaptation. Sadly, Constantine lasted a mere 13 episodes before the series was canceled, but, fortunately, this was not the end of Ryan’s take on the character. In the years that followed, the Arrowverse adopted Ryan’s Constantine, and he appeared in Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, The Flash, and Harley Quinn.
Matt Ryan’s Constantine Soon Won’t Be The Most Recent Take On DC’s Character
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While Ryan’s Constantine also starred in the web series Constantine: City of Demons, it is the iconic DC series Legends of Tomorrow that really warrants further discussion here. Ryan’s Constantine was in one episode each other Arrow, Batwoman, The Flash, and Harley Quinn, whereas the actor appeared in a grand total of 47 episodes of Legends of Tomorrow when his recurring season 3 role was fleshed out into a major main role from seasons 4–6.
For those keeping count, that meant that Ryan appeared in almost three times as many Legend of Tomorrow episodes as he did episodes of Constantine itself. The star became one of the highlights of the Arrowverse, while the Arrowverse itself gave Ryan’s take on the character of Constantine a whole new lease of life in return. However, after a 12-year reign, Ryan will soon no longer be the most recent live-action version of the character.
Recently, Deadline reported that Evil Dead Wrath‘s Francis Galluppi is working on a script for another Constantine movie for DC. Seemingly unrelated to the Reeves movie’s long-gestating sequel, this movie means that although there could soon be two Constantine live-action movies happening, neither would bring back the Arrowverse’s version of the character.
Matt Ryan’s Constantine Had A Long And Complicated Arrowverse History
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The fact that HBO made a new version of Watchmen a mere ten years after director Zack Snyder’s take on the iconic graphic novel means Moore is no stranger to seeing his work adapted repeatedly. However, Ryan’s unique trajectory with the character of Constantine, from his swiftly canceled show to joining the Arrowverse, to his long run on Legends of Tomorrow, was a truly chaotic and unpredictable one.
For a long stretch of Legends of Tomorrow, Ryan even ended up playing a different character because DC seemingly had plans for Constantine back then. Of course, these plans never amounted to anything, which meant Ryan could then reprise the role for the DC Animated Movie Universe. However, this also seems to bode badly for the upcoming live-action movie.
From the brevity of Ryan’s show to the long wait for Reeves’ sequel, Constantine seems to be a character that Hollywood has a hard time nailing down. As such, perhaps fans of the Arrowverse need not worry too much after all, as it might still be a while before this proposed Constantine movie actually materializes.
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