Fans ofConstantineseem to have nothing to worry about as the film’s director, Francis Lawrence, has given a rather promising update about the sequel. July 14, 2025, marks the 20th anniversary ofConstantine’s theatrical debut in 2005. Based on theHellraisercomic series by Vertigo, the movie sees Keanu Reeves step into the role of DC Comics' favorite occult magic user, John Constantine. The film was a moderate box office hit but has grown a cult following, and after years of speculation,Constantine 2was announced in September 2022.
Speaking withEntertainment Weekly, director Francis Lawrence has spoken about the sequel and revealed that the movie is in active development.“We just started cooking up some ideas. I will say that we are closer than ever to aConstantinesequel, that there is an idea that Keanu and Akiva and I all really love, and that is being actively developed now,“Lawrence said. While the original Constantine aimed for a PG-13 rating but still wound up with an R rating, the goal now is to embrace the film’s mature rating from the start.“Quite honestly, we came out of the first [movie] loving the process, not loving the fact that we got an R, but we thought if we’re going to get an R, let’s embrace that. Let’s do the R-rated, scarier version of aConstantinesequel.”
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Regarding what held the sequel up for so long, it appears to be several factors, including the strikes and complications around who had the rights to Constantine. Lawrence said:
“I will say that the strikes had a little bit of an impact…The problem was with multiple regime changes at Warner Bros., at DC, and the DC characters being tossed around from person to person to person. The big hurdle over these last 20 years has been who has the rights to these Vertigo characters or “DC Dark”? NBC did make a series. We’ve always gotten held up because they go, “No,wehaveConstantine. We want to do something withConstantine. You guys can’t do yourConstantine.” Finally, I think this is right before the strikes, we got everybody to say, “Okay, you’re able to go.”
Even thoughConstantine 2is being developed, fans should expect to wait a bit to see the movie. Lawrence confirmed that he will firstfilmThe Hunger Games: Sunrise of the Reaping, which already has a July 22, 2025 release date. This suggests fans should expect to wait quite a while forConstantine 2. No story details are confirmed for the highly-anticipated sequel, and aside from Keanu Reeves, no other actors from the original film are confirmed to return.
‘Constantine 2’ Long Journey through Development Hell
The idea ofConstantinegetting a sequel certainly feels like a dream come true for fans.Keanu Reeves even begged Warner Bros. to do iton multiple occasions. The movie opened at a weird point for adaptations of DC Comics on film. Despite being a darker comic book adaptation, it was slightly overshadowed byBatman Begins, which opened later that year and was a bigger hit at the box office.Constantinegrossed $75 million at the domestic box office. While that would have been seen as a flop considering its reported $100 million budget, the movie’s worldwide gross of $230 million combined with strong DVD sales showed that there was an audience forConstantine, particularly Keanu Reeves' interpretation of the character.
In many ways, the 2005Constantineintroduced the character to a wider audience and made him one of the biggest names in DC Comics. Warner Bros. previously attempted to develop aConstantinetelevision series for Maxfrom producer J.J. Abrams as part of the DCEU; however, those plans were scrapped in favor ofConstantine 2, looking to cash in on the career resurgence of star Keanu Reeves. Even thoughConstantine 2was first announced one month before it was confirmed that James Gunn and Peter Safran would become the heads of DC Studios, the sequel luckily remained safe, labeled an Elseworlds title. In 2005, the idea of aConstantinesequel seemed like something fans would only dream of, but now it is close to reality.
Constantine
