HBO Max's planned live-action Constantine reboot series is no longer moving forward at the streaming service.
According to Variety, the Constantine reboot series -- produced J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions -- is now "dead" at HBO Max. This revelation coincides with the news that Warner Bros. Discovery has green-lit a sequel to the 2005 film Constantine, with Keanu Reeves attached to reprise his role as John Constantine.
Variety's sources explain that prior to the Constantine sequel film coming together, HBO Max had been in talks with an actor to portray the lead character in its now-dead reboot series. (If rumors are to be believed, Gangs of London star Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù was the front-runner to be the next live-action Hellblazer.) The outlet also reports that four scripts had been written for the Constantine reboot series, which would take place in present-day London.
At any rate, Constantine is not Abrams' only Justice League Dark-adjacent HBO Max project to be put on the back burner. Variety also reports that Madame X, executive produced by Angela Robinson, is also being "put to the side." However, both Constantine and Madame X may find a second life elsewhere. Variety's sources say that "both Warner Bros. Television and Bad Robot remain extremely high on both projects and expect to find a new home for them both."
John Constantine Is No Stranger to Live-Action
Created by Alan Moore, Stephen R. Bissette, Rick Veitch, and John Totleben, John Constantine first appeared in 1985's Swamp Thing #37. The character went on to star in his own solo series, John Constantine, Hellblazer, which was originally written by Jamie Delano and illustrated by John Ridgway. The title would become a hallmark of DC's now-defunct Vertigo Comics imprint.
John Constantine was first portrayed in live-action by the aforementioned Reeves in 2005's Constantine, which -- despite the liberties it took with the source material -- has become something of a cult classic, leading to high demand for a sequel. Matt Ryan later played a more comics-accurate version of the Hellblazer in the 2014 NBC series Constantine. While the show was canceled after only one season, Ryan later reprised his role as part of The CW's Arrowverse. Most recently, Jenna Coleman portrayed Johanna Constantine in the first season of Netflix's The Sandman, based on the Vertigo Comics series of the same name written and co-created by Neil Gaiman.
Source: Variety