Following the cancellation of his eponymous series after only 13 episodes on NBC, Matt Ryan’s iteration of John Constantine has amazingly thrived over at The CW. Since first being welcomed into the fold during Arrow‘s fourth season, the demonologist migrated over to Legends of Tomorrow, and even headlined an animated film/web series in the form of Constantine: City of Demons. It’s also worth mentioning that Ryan voiced the character in Justice League Dark, though that project was unrelated to the Arrowverse.
Understandably, legions of viewers have wondered if indeed The CW will allow for Constantine to headline a series of his own yet again, this time under their roof. Regrettably, the network’s president, Mark Pedowitz said there have been no talks regarding doing any such thing while speaking at the recent TCA press event – but we’ll continue seeing the exorcist playing a prominent role on Legends of Tomorrow.
To be more specific, Astra, who’d originally been established as a child on NBC’s Constantine, will serve as the big bad once the Waverider crew get going on their fifth season. Executive producer and showrunner Phil Klemmer spoke with ComicBook.com about the situation, saying:
“We are going to see a terribly nuanced version of Astra. She, unlike most people in Hell, isn’t going to appear evil through and through. Should we have the chance to continue the story next season, there’s a flipside to the coin of this girl — now woman — who resents him and had been corrupted by her experience. She blames him for everything that went wrong in her life.”
To briefly recap, Astra had been damned to Hell while she was still a little girl, thanks to a situation bungled by Constantine himself. But more recently, she’s aged up while down there – and has even thrived. Going forward, she’ll bring the souls of the most vile figures in history along with her, so this should make for an interesting viewing experience and an unexpected revisiting of John’s personal story.
Right now, Legends of Tomorrow hasn’t been dealt a premiere date, though it’s worth mentioning that its part in the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover will air on Tuesday, January 14th on The CW. I mean, it’s very possible the event could serve as the season premiere, but nothing’s been said in that regard. As always, we’ll keep you posted.
