John Constantine has saved lives and broken hearts across the DC Universe, but Justice League Dark: Apokolips War takes things into uncharted waters.
In a forthcoming interview, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War co-writer Mairghread Scott opened up about exploring Constantine's sexuality. While that's nothing new for the many adaptations of the character, the film does add an interesting new wrinkle: a relationship between Constantine and King Shark.
"I didn't expect that to be quite such a thing," said Scott of the revelation. "I knew that movie was going to have Suicide Squad in it and I have always loved Gail Simone's work and she had King Shark work with Suicide Squad for a while... And I thought it'd be really funny, since Constantine is such a disaster, if he slept with someone on the Suicide Squad.
Once the idea was in place, Scott knew she could have fun with the revelation. "There was a draft that kind alluded to that idea, as they're going to the Suicide Squad, he's worried because he's going to run into his ex," she continued. "So the idea is that everyone assumes it's Harley, but then you find out it's King Shark because, obviously, Constantine is a little crazy but he's not that crazy."
It wasn't just about the comedy of Constantine and King Shark, however, as Scott wanted to make sure the antihero's bisexuality was explored, noting, "Constantine has always been about Zatanna, this shows Constantine is bi. People think he dated Harley but, it turns out, he dated one of the dudes and I just thought it was really funny. There was a draft where we got into why their relationship worked because Constantine is magic, he could understand what King Shark was trying to say and that's why they had a relationship, but that sort of got cut for time."
While both Legends of Tomorrow and the comics have thoroughly explored Constantine's bisexuality, the writers of Apokolips War didn't shy away from making it part of the story. And as Scott mentions, Constantine's straddling of the mortal and magical world means he operates on a whole different playing field.
Justice League Dark: Apokolips War stars Matt Ryan as John Constantine, Jerry O'Connell as Superman, Taissa Farmiga as Raven, Stuart Allan as Robin, Tony Todd as Darkseid, Jason O'Mara as Batman, Rosario Dawson as Wonder Woman, Shemar Moore as Cyborg, Christopher Gorham as the Flash, Rebecca Romijn as Lois Lane and Rainn Wilson as Lex Luthor. The film is out on Digital HD and arrives on Blu-ray May 19.