Keanu Reeves' first peak era was in the early 2000s when his fame skyrocketed thanks to The Matrix. Nowadays, he is known for John Wick, even though he no longer wants to play that role because he feels too old for it—despite being the perfect age for it now at 60, since the hitman was originally intended to be that old. Although, at first glance, the role of Constantine in Constantine: The Demon Hunter, released on February 18, 2005, didn’t seem to fit him, as the character in the comics is blonde, the movie now has a massive cult following. Moreover, a sequel is being made with the original team, Reeves and director Francis Lawrence, onboard. To celebrate this anniversary, we’re looking back at this cult classic with an interesting fact. The key question: why was Reeves chosen for Constantine, even though the actor was never actually that character?
John Constantine is a long-established antihero in the DC universe. He was co-created by Alan Moore (Watchmen) and first appeared in the mid-1980s in a Swamp Thing comic before getting his own story under the title Hellblazer. The series became one of the longest-running and most successful titles under DC’s Vertigo imprint, with occult events mostly set in England. Unsurprisingly, the character was inspired by famous English musician Sting, who also appeared in the 1984 Dune movie adaptation. It would have been perfect if Sting had played Constantine in the Hellblazer film version, but that didn’t happen.
Due to the similarity in title with Hellraiser, the filmmakers changed the project’s name from Hellblazer to Constantine. The film’s development began in the mid-90s under producer Lauren Shuler Donner, wife of Richard Donner. Initially, director Paul Hunter, known for his music videos, was considered, but then came Tarsem Singh, a more promising name, who proved his style and horror skills with The Cell. Warner Bros., the studio behind the DC project, wanted Nicolas Cage for Constantine, but that didn’t work out. Singh also left the production, suing in the process. He didn’t want Cage in the lead role. Naturally, Alan Moore opposed the whole project, as he disliked adaptations of his comics (From Hell, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) even back then, so he refused to have his name associated with Constantine.
Reeves entered the picture in 2002, and then Lawrence came on board. It's important to note that Constantine’s look and background were changed not because of Keanu Reeves, as many speculated in the 2000s, but because of a more practical reason. In the original script, Constantine was still English, just like in the comics, and would have looked as he did in Hellblazer. However, the script didn’t really grab the attention of the studio heads. So, the creators changed a few things, like turning Constantine into a dark-haired American, and the studio executives liked that version more. So, it wasn’t Reeves’ casting that led to the change.
Constantine started its theatrical run with $29.8 million, reaching second place at the box office in the USA, and globally grossed $230.9 million, with a production budget of around $100 million. So, it wasn’t a blockbuster, and it received mixed reviews, although Reeves' performance was praised. Likely because of this, Warner didn’t rush into making a sequel, which has been discussed by the creators since the early 2010s: sometimes Reeves, sometimes Lawrence, expressing how much they’d love to make Constantine 2. The project is now on track, with the director recently confirming that it will definitely happen, and if we believe producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Akiva Goldsman has already delivered a script for the film.
Do you like Constantine and Reeves in the lead role?
