Constantine Sequel Would’ve Featured Jesus And Been R-Rated

Talk of a Constantine sequel or reboot has been going around for some time, with Keanu Reeves still being considered to play the lead role. After all, the 2005 effort was a reasonable hit for Warner Bros., despite its R-rating, and the studio have been keen to resurrect the property, including via a HBO Max series focusing on the Justice League Dark. At a 15th anniversary panel during Comic-Con@Home this week though, Reeves, producer Akiva Goldsman and director Francis Lawrence discussed some of their wilder sequel ideas.

According to Goldsman, the planned sequel would have doubled down on the R-rating, after Constantine received the classification despite the intention of delivering a PG-13-rated picture. Furthermore, one idea that screenwriter Frank Cabello had for a follow-up is probably more unlikely than others to be made, in that it involved pairing Constantine up with Jesus Christ.

Here’s what Goldsman had to say about it:

“We’ve talked about it and we’ve had ideas, and I would love that, what if he woke up in a cell, he has to identify the prisoner? It was [screenwriter Frank Cabello’s] idea that [the prisoner] was Jesus. He comes up and he’s in New York. Yeah, we’ve talked about a sequel.”

Perhaps understandably, the producers saw the idea of bringing in Jesus as a polarizing decision, particularly for a major studio. Still, there’s a lot of mileage in Constantine’s story, and the character has enjoyed a solid run in the Arrowverse over the last few years. Reeves is still keen to return as the hero, too, after 15 years, regardless of whether we get a sequel or a reboot of the source material to more closely align it with the current strategy for the DCEU.

The recent success of R-rated superhero movies like Logan and Deadpool also shows that there’s a market for a more adult-themed version of John Constantine, as does the appetite for supernatural horror. The interest in making a Zatanna and Justice League Dark production, among others, demonstrates that Warner Bros. are keen to capitalize on the magical side of the DC Universe.

Whatever the outcome, and whether or not Reeves steps back into the role, we’re excited to hear about the star and producers’ ongoing passion for Constantine.