As both a fan and a writer, I’ve certainly come to notice how people perk up whenever John Constantine is mentioned these days. In the past, I’d stated how the cancellation of his eponymous NBC series came with the most silver of linings, as the exorcist has enjoyed various appearances on TV and in animation in the time since the Peacock brought down the ax.
And with Matt Ryan’s wildly popular take on the demonologist enjoying a more extended stay in the Arrowverse as a series regular on Legends of Tomorrow this season, it’s probably safe to assume that more curious viewers will be tuning in to see how that turns out.
So, even though we know for sure that Constantine will be showing up in the premiere, it appears as though the producers are going for the slow burn when it comes to actually having him join the team. I’m aware of how an impression was given by the new poster that’s been floating around, but executive producer Phil Klemmer isn’t rushing things, as he laid out the following in a recent interview:
“The reason we held back on making him a Legend is we always wanted to keep that shroud of mystery around him. We didn’t want to have him acclimate ever to being integrated with the team. [We] selfishly wanted to create some new mystery around him for our show.”
In truth, it makes sense to build to his inclusion organically because Constantine being on a team of time traveling superheroes sounds atypical, though they sure are going to need his expertise in the dark arts with what’s on the way.
In fact, Klemmer next touched on how the character’s had a summer vacation of sorts – at least by his standards:
“So between dropping off the dragon’s head and knocking on Sara and Ava’s door in the middle of the night in the premiere, he lived a very eventful five months. He was in a pretty good spot, relatively for Constantine, but we wanted him to be darker, more troubled, more mysterious. That’s something for the audience to have to unravel: What happened to Constantine during the offseason and why has he changed?”
Find out what’s next for John and the rest of the gang when Legends of Tomorrow returns for its fourth season on Monday, October 22 on The CW.
