Writer Akiva Goldsman Says He Is “Still Discovering” What ‘Constantine 2’ Is About, Credits Keanu Reeves With Getting It Moving
Constantine 2 was announced last September but became a variable when James Gunn and Peter Safran assumed power at DC Studios. Fortunately for its returning creative team, the belated sequel is still happening with screenwriter Akiva Goldsman plugging away at the script. However, development is still in the early stage and he confesses the shape the story will take is still an enigma.
“The character is very much Keanu and the way he and Francis [Lawrence] saw the world of good and evil, and the wonderful and authentic noir where there is a world behind the world of good and evil coexist with our world right up close. Beyond that, we are still discovering it as I am writing the script,” Goldsman told Deadline.
Star of the 2005 film Keanu Reeves is returning with director Francis Lawrence at the helm and all the pieces came together because of Reeves’ tenacity. “This is a credit to Keanu [Reeves], who endlessly has said, ‘this is the character I want to return to.'”
“Finally, he said it enough times that it stuck… So I’m coming out of the gate fast,” Goldsman said.
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“We’re doing it with JJ Abrams, and Francis and Keanu and I have been pretty deep in the story-breaking stage,” he added. It may not be fleshed out yet but Goldsman has a ballpark for the ideas his team wants to tap into. Though there might be some curveballs to keep things fresh, they are staying in familiar territory.
“The new film expands on the themes the original brought, about maintaining the barrier between earth and the evil creatures that are on the other side,” Goldsman added. So it‘s business as usual for John Constantine and a lot of “unfinished business,” as Reeves told Total Film. “I don’t know if it was unfinished business but it was definitely a role that I loved.”
Via The Direct, he continued, “And I thought that Francis Lawrence, the director, did such amazing work. I loved playing that character, and I really enjoyed the film. I was like, [adopts Oliver Twist voice] ‘Can I please have some more?'” Hence, he bugged Warner Bros “almost every year” – and they kept telling him “No, no!” But now he can return to that “playground.”
“So it’s exciting. It’s almost like an open playground that we can hopefully cook something up and play in, and I guess get out of the playground and prepare a meal,” Reeves said. “But I’m looking forward to it, and hopefully it can happen. You don’t know how these things go. But I’m definitely going to try my darndest to try and realize that dream.”
If you listen to Goldsman, Constantine 2 is certainly happening. Where it stands in DCU canon is a different issue though it appears to be one of the Elseworlds projects “actively happening.” However, Swamp Thing showing up to muddy the hellish waters, which has been discussed, could plant the sequel and Reeves’ take on the wizard in the main continuity.
NEXT: Rumor: Warner Bros. Looking To Introduce Swamp Thing In Francis Lawrence’s ‘Constantine’ Sequel
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