Keanu Reeves May Be Popular, but James Gunn Has 1 Opportunity To Fix DC’s Most Misused Antihero

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The DC Universe hasn’t released a movie into theaters yet, but there are likely plans to introduce several major DC icons. The same can be said for some more obscure DC characters, with Swamp Thing getting his own movie and the Creature Commandos having already appeared in their own animated TV show. This darker and more supernatural avenue creates the opportunity for one character in particular to appear, and his DCU debut might finally change things around for this gritty antihero.

John Constantine is a major part of the paranormal and adult-oriented “Vertigo” DC Comics properties, and he has a lot of potential in James Gunn’s new DC Universe. Adding the character to the new universe can do him the justice he hasn’t had in the comics for years now, returning him to his more grounded roots. Of course, this might involve officially canceling another planned project that’s arguably dead on arrival anyway.

Keanu Reeves’ Constantine 2 Needs to Be Canceled

A few years before James Gunn’s DC Universe reboot was announced, it was revealed that a sequel to the now 20-year-old Constantine movie was in the works. This took many by surprise, especially considering the nature of the film. After all, the first movie had mostly been forgotten, so making another decades after the fact was rather perplexing. Since then, there’s been a constant back and forth, with the development of the movie supposedly going smoothly, despite being at a seeming standstill.

If the movie was to be released, it would be under the DC Elseworlds label for movies and TV shows that otherwise aren’t in James Gunn’s planned DC Universe. After all, there’s no way that Gunn will try to accommodate the first Constantine by shaping the DCU around it, and it might be hard to retroactively do the opposite, as well. Given how things are going for both the unmade sequel and the DCU, however, it’s time to close the curtain on this movie and the Keanu Reeves Constantine. At this point, James Gunn needs to cancel Constantine 2 in order to free the character up for the DC Universe, among other reasons.

It’s not as if Constantine was a particularly beloved movie, as it received mixed-at-best reviews from critics years ago. Likewise, it was both a financial disappointment and a terrible adaptation of the character, with John Constantine changed to a dark-haired American instead of his iconic status as a blond British man resembling the singer Sting. It’s a decision that’s likely driven more by Keanu Reeves’ revived popularity than anything else. Given all the ways in which the movie was a letdown, making a sequel to Constantine years after anyone would care about it is mindboggling at the best of times.

Likewise, it makes even less sense to “split” the character between a distinct Elseworlds incarnation and his potential DCU version, as he’s not the kind of character who’s popular enough to do so with. It doesn’t help that Elseworlds movies are seemingly a non-existent priority beyond Matt Reeves’ The Batman: Part II. Instead of being in an unnecessary sequel, Constantine needs to appear in the DCU (and only the DCU), especially if it means avoiding the mistakes that the comics have made with him in the past decade.

Constantine Has Been Poorly Handled Since the New 52

John Constantine debuted in DC’s The Saga of the Swamp Thing comic book series, with the character being a magical miscreant, of sorts. His popularity saw him spun off into his own series titled Hellblazer, with this and the Swamp Thing title eventually printed under DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint for darker, more mature content. Constantine constantly dealt with cults, outright demons and the supernatural, even conjuring a few spells of his own from time to time. At the heart of the stories, however, was a wounded and self-loathing man who hid behind an arrogant, smug bravado born of the punk era in the 1980s.

Many of his stories were actually fairly grounded, even if there was ultimately some sort of paranormal or horror element to them. This reflected the politics of the time and further showcased Constantine’s rebellious attitude, and this characterization separated him from other magical comic book characters such as DC’s Doctor Fate or Marvel Comics’ similar Doctor Strange. Sadly, that was lost in translation entirely when the character was transitioned back into the mainstream DC Universe, namely after the New 52 comic book reboot.

Ever since 2011, Constantine’s character has been cartoonishly flanderized in books such as Justice League Dark, and to call the character a true rendition of what was done by writers such as Alan Moore, Jamie Delano and Garth Ennis is the worst kind of joke. Now, instead of a rogue who sometimes uses magic, he’s constantly using spells and “comic book” magic in a variety of bombastic ways. He’s essentially just another superhero at best, and a sarcastic British take on Doctor Fate at worst. This is especially egregious given that his classic Vertigo stories had long stretches where it was arguable whether John had powers at all and if he was merely bluffing the entire time.

That’s now been thrown out of the window entirely in exchange for stories that completely waste the character in order to have him on a team with other magical “heroes.” Worst of all, a lot of the social commentary and more grounded stories that he’s known for are gone entirely, completely stripping him of any thematic or narrative value. This has now been the case for the character in the comics for years, but it doesn’t have to be so in the new DC Universe.

The DCU Could Perfectly Capture Constantine In a Hellblazer TV Show

There’s a definite chance that Constantine will appear in the new DC Universe, which will be unlike previous attempts at a shared superhero universe of live-action shows and movies. James Gunn’s DCU will have a combination of live-action and animation across movies and TV shows, with these also having different tones and scopes. For instance, James Gunn’s upcoming Superman movie will have a more lighthearted, traditional take on the hero, with the previous Creature Commandos animated series and likely the upcoming Swamp Thing movie by director James Mangold being meant for adult viewers.

If anything, a modern, non-cable TV show is actually the perfect format for these older-leaning programs and stories in the DC Universe, especially since many of them will essentially be “prestige” shows on HBO and the Max streaming service. This is where Constantine can run wild in the DCU, and it’s also a great place to adapt many of his classic Vertigo stories. A DCU Hellblazer show on Max can deliver the kind of cynical grittiness that the character needs, especially if the Jamie Delano Hellblazer comics are used as source material.

While these had several supernatural elements, it was all done in a way that pertained to grounded and seemingly mundane concepts. Thus, all the grunge and grit of an HBO series such as The Sopranos can be given a slightly paranormal filter, showcasing the right amount of “out there” for the character. The TV show shouldn’t try to be The CW’s iconic Supernatural or the sole season of the NBC Constantine TV show, instead going for something more relatable, grounded and mature while being more interested in dealing with heady issues, apart from demons and ghosts.

In a sense, it would be a successful version of True Detective Season 5, albeit with a show that naturally has the supernatural baked into its DNA instead of that series’ controversial heel turn in both genre and quality. Still, there need to be some elements of a shared universe that are otherwise avoided. For the character to thrive in the DCU, Constantine needs to be the classic Vertigo version and not the watered-down incarnation seen in comics since the New 52. This means that having him join a team such as Shadowpact or Justice League Dark should be out of the question. The same goes for having him portrayed as a magical jack of all trades who can mindlessly throw around fireballs and spells in every situation.

That role should be saved for Zatanna or Doctor Fate, who fit it much better and are more traditional superheroes anyway. The Hellblazer TV show can likewise appeal to fans beyond the superhero fanbase and should be written/directed as such. It doesn’t need to be another soulless cog in a shared universe machine, and it should instead be an intelligent TV series featuring stories and a character that happened to have been published in comic book form years ago. This can give the DCU longevity with general audiences who are tiring of superhero tropes, all the while accurately bringing Constantine back to the small screen.

“}]] Constantine hasn’t been done justice in modern DC comic books, but the new DCU can accurately adapt his classic stories in a gritty TV show.  Read More