The Real Reason Keanu Reeves' Constantine 2 Is Taking So Long

Francis Lawrence's 2005 demonic thriller "Constantine" wasn't terribly well-reviewed when it first came out. Some critics liked the film's visuals, and many praised Peter Stormare's performance as Satan, but just as many critics (including Jack Matthews in the New York Daily News) lambasted the film for being a painfully traditional action/murder fantasy hooey. "Constantine" was also unremarkable at the box office, netting $200 million worldwide on a $100 million budget (which, by Hollywood accounting, isn't a blockbuster). 

The film was based on the "Hellblazer" comics, published by DC's adult-oriented imprint Vertigo, and the comics' many fans eventually came to admire Lawrence's film adaptation. A cult grew. Back in 2022, Warner Bros. found that the original film's clout had grown to the point where a sequel could be officially announced. 

"Constantine 2" has now been in pre-production for three years. /Film offered an update in September of 2023, and the film had been put on hold because of the writers' strike. Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman had said that he and Reeves had come up with a story, but that no actual screenplay had been written yet. The strike likely put "Constantine 2" on hold for at least a year. Then there was also the matter of James Gunn's new rebooted DC Comics universe, which will debut with "Superman" later this year. Because John Constantine is a DC Comics character, some wrangling likely had to take place with Gunn and his crew. 

Another big reason for the delay is that Keanu Reeves, devoted to reprising his role as John Constantine, doesn't like any of the scripts. The Direct recently spoke with Stormare about the film, and he had the skinny. It seems all the scripts so far have been way too action-forward, which isn't what Reeves had in mind.

Oh yes, and not to bury the lede: it seems that Stormare will indeed be returning as Lucifer. Deadline also reported in February 2025 that Reeves and Lawrence (likewise returning) have pitched a new idea to Warner Bros., so the process is still grinding along. No script has manifested.

And we'll see how much creative freedom Reeves and Lawrence will get. Stormare pointed out in his Direct interview that big studios have a bad tendency to "beef up" sequels, even if it's not warranted. In his words, Warner Bros. wanted "cars flying in the air. They want to have people doing flip-flops and fighting action scenes." While "Constantine" featured fights with demons, it wasn't a fistfight kind of movie. Most of the themes were spiritual, and John Constantine was a cancer-riddled cynic who performed rock-n-roll exorcisms, not a hard-fisted badass who punches people in the face. Reeves, who turns 61 this year, doesn't need another action series like "The Matrix" or "John Wick" on his resume. He wants this one to be different. Stormare theorized:

"I think Keanu says, 'I've done "John Wick." This movie is spiritual. It's about demons and regular people. And I wanted to keep it that way.' And we talked about that. I want to do God coming down exactly the same way, but in a black suit and looking more or less like Lucifer from the first one. I'm 12 years older, so it's going to be hard to, you know, completely imitate the first movie. But, I think from Keanu, he wants to do a sequel that is very close to the first one."

This is a sound theory, as anyone paying attention to Hollywood seems to know how big studios and executives tend to think. Repeat a winning formula, and add populist entertainment. Dour, character-driven demon films don't fit into that mold.

Stormare said that WB wanted his Lucifer to look more traditionally demonic, with horns and a tail. In Lawrence's film, Lucifer looks like an ordinary human in an off-white suit and no necktie. It was Stormare's performance that made the character demonic, not the makeup. Because of this, he understands that studios can get nervous about pitching a downbeat drama about a wounded exorcist in his 60s. Stormare knows that Reeves wants to explore John Constantine as a character, seeing what happens to a man who knows he is beyond holy redemption. No one wants it to be a high-octane superhero movie. As Stormare said: 

"It turns into an action movie, and not like going deeper and deeper into the characters. I think he wants to do his character again, Constantine, as grounded as it was in the first one. It took a long time for you to become a cult movie, it really worked, and it will work on the audience again. You don't have to add a lot of action and shootouts. You have other movies. Don't turn it into Big Marvel ... [Don't turn it] into us flying around in harnesses all the time and shooting each other up. Don't bring in the big guns. Let it be."

Of course, this is all second-hand information, and Stormare acknowledged it all as "hearsay." What we can glean is that Reeves is indeed being "selective," making sure the film turns out the way he would like. Lawrence is best known for ambitious genre-inflected dramas like "I Am Legend," four of the "Hunger Games" movies, and, coming later in 2025, "The Long Walk," based on a story by Stephen King. No doubt, he and Reeves will insert plenty of demonic action into their movie. Time will tell, however, if this thing ever gets made.