The Batman Writer Mattson Tomlin Teases New DC Movie — Could It Be Constantine?

JB Augustine |

Dec 20, 2019

It appears, with The Batman ramping up and closing in on a shooting date, Warner Bros. is so confident in director/writer Matt Reeves and co-writer Mattson Tomlin that the studio is tapping Tomlin to pen more DC scripts.

Tomlin sent a tweet – featuring a GIF of former Dark Knight Christian Bale in American Psycho – saying “I need to buy some comic books.” Scuttlebutt is he will do this for research.

“I need to buy some comic books.” pic.twitter.com/e09eE6foyX

— mattson tomlin (@mattsontomlin) December 13, 2019

He could be researching and working on any character including one of the Bat villains rumored for a spinoff. Although the word is Tomlin is writing a script for a new movie starring DC’s gritty and jaded wizard John Constantine.

Sources in touch with We Got This Covered say Tomlin is the chosen screenwriter for a reboot similar to how Marvel and Fox reworked Deadpool. It’d be a different version from previous ones of the same character.

Warner allegedly looks to relaunch Constantine with an eye for somebody familiar to the role. While there is Matt Ryan who’s made his name as Constantine on TV over the last few years, the studio is thinking bigger. They want Keanu Reeves to reprise the part for a fresh take.

The standalone Constantine movie starring Reeves and Rachel Weisz came out in 2005 and was a minor hit grossing over $230 million. Decried at the time for departing too much from the Hellblazer comics, people revisited the film since then and turned it into a cult favorite.

Reeves is in the middle of a career renaissance due in no small part to the John Wick series. Part four is in the works and due to release at the same time as The Matrix 4 – meaning the actor competes against himself at the box office soon.

We don’t exactly know what the future holds for the star in the realm of comic-based adaptations but Reeves reportedly had a meeting with Kevin Feige about joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He’s been brought up before in the conversation concerning the next Wolverine.

That new Matrix being on the way, WB might tie up Reeves’ schedule for the time being. And the world of Constantine is something he told Variety this year he digs, adding he wants to play him again:

“I’ve always wanted to play John Constantine again. I just love that world, too, and I love that character. I just had a blast playing a character and [playing] in that world.”

Constantine might wind up a big figure in the new DC Extended Universe. There’s talk he might appear in a Swamp Thing movie that is rumored and could get off the ground. And Justice League Dark is still in development after all this time, which he will likely be in. You can’t have JLD without the old wily sorcerer.

Matt Ryan plays Constantine on Legends of Tomorrow and across Arrow’s multiverse. He played a part in Crisis on Infinite Earths trying to bring Oliver Queen back to life.

Ryan’s first turn as the chainsmoking Limey warlock came on an NBC series that didn’t last a single season. The show is currently available on DC Universe.

Let us know what you think the project is and if you want Keanu Reeves back as the Hellblazer.