'Constantine 2' Revives as James Gunn Exits DC, Director Says

James Gunn and Peter Safran are out as co-studio heads at DC, and "Constantine" director Francis Lawrence says the sequel he has chased for more than 20 years may finally move. "We are now more hopeful as of yesterday's news that maybe now there will be another opportunity," Lawrence told Collider.

The director did not soften his account of why the project stalled. "We've been trying to make 'Constantine 2' for 20-something years, and we have an idea, and we have a script, and we've been wanting to make it, and the people that were at DC were an impediment to us making it," he said. He added a caveat: "Not that I want anybody to lose their jobs, so this is not like a schadenfreude kind of thing."

The film is a sequel to the 2005 action-horror hit based on the "Hellblazer" comics, with Keanu Reeves in the title role as the occult detective John Constantine. Reeves, Akiva Goldsman and J.J. Abrams are all attached, according to Lawrence. "It's not me, it's not Keanu, it's not Akiva. J.J. is on it, as well. We all want to do it," he said.

Who must say yes now?

What does this change for the sequel? In Lawrence's reading, the path runs through the new owners of the DC slate. "It's really going to be people at Paramount, Warner, whoever's running DC now, getting everybody on board to say, like, 'Hey, we can do a sequel of our version of Constantine,'" he told Collider.

Lawrence also addressed the possibility that DC wants its own Constantine for a shared-universe franchise. The two versions could coexist, he said, and the comics character has long supported multiple interpretations. "So, I have renewed hope as of yesterday that there might be some possibility for forward movement there," he said.

The remarks are the latest turn in a slow-burning saga. Reeves said in February 2025, in an interview with Inverse, that the project had cleared its first studio hurdle in years. "We've been trying to make this film for over a decade, and we just recently put a story together and pitched it to DC Studios and they said, 'Okay.' So, we're going to try and write a script," the "Point Break" actor said at the time.

Akiva Goldsman was reported to be writing that script, with J.J. Abrams producing.

A director with a full calendar

Lawrence arrives at this moment with commercial momentum. His most recent film, "The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping," reaches theaters on November 20. That schedule could compress the window for a Constantine shoot, and any green light will still require agreement among Paramount, Warner and DC's new leadership.

For now, the filmmakers hold a script, a star and a stated willingness. What they gained this week, in Lawrence's words, is the removal of the people he calls an impediment — and with it, a chance that a 20-year wait might finally end.