‘Constantine 2’ gains momentum as director Francis Lawrence shares promising news

John Constantine. While details remain uncertain, a recent interview with director Francis Lawrence suggests the long-awaited sequel might finally be moving forward.

Constantine, loosely based on the graphic novel series Hellblazer, hit theaters in 2005 and did fairly well at the box office, earning more than $230 million worldwide on a $100 million budget. Though critics were split, the movie gained a cult following, with fans eagerly hoping for the long-awaited sequel. In 2022, it was officially confirmed that a sequel was in development.

In Dec. 2024, Lawrence told Comic Book in an interview that among all the movies he has directed, including The Hunger Games and I Am Legend, he felt Constantine was the one “really worthy of a sequel.” Serious talks about creating Constantine 2 began as early as five years ago, with him, Reeves, and producer Akiva Goldsman discussing via Zoom how they could move forward. And after going through some “hurdles,” they began working on a script.

Lawrence said that when Constantine first hit theaters, not everyone was thrilled with their take on the character, especially die-hard fans of the graphic novel. Many pointed out the stark differences between Reeves’ portrayal and the original Constantine, who was a blond, British occult detective, unlike Reeves’ dark-haired American version. They nailed the chain-smoking, though. Furthermore, some critics also took issue with the film’s pacing as well as what some saw as a missed opportunity to lean more into its horror elements.

CONSTANTINE 2 is now "closer than ever" to becoming a reality, says director Francis Lawrence:

"Keanu [Reeves] and I are super, super excited about it. We have a great idea!"

(via @Collider) pic.twitter.com/AlZwvpWU83

— DCU – The Direct (@DCU_Direct) February 12, 2025

For the sequel, Lawrence teased that they plan to embrace the R-rating from the start. In the first Constantine, they filmed with PG-13 guidelines in mind, but the movie still ended up with an R-rating. For the sequel, he’s determined to lean into the R-rated freedom from the beginning, which may allow for a darker, more intense horror-infused approach that was said to be lacking in the first one. “Let’s go and do a sequel and really make it an R-rated movie. Give us an R, let us make a real R-rated movie,” he stated.

Recently, the director spoke to Collider about Constantine 2’s progress, saying, “We are closer than ever to being able to do a sequel, which is a great thing. And Akiva, Keanu, and I are super, super excited about it.” While details are still under wraps, Lawrence teased that they’ve been diving into the graphic novels released since the first movie and they’re brimming with excitement over the “great idea” they have for the sequel, emphasizing that what they’ll come up with is an amalgamation of their love for the characters and the core ideas from the source material.

Meanwhile, to mark the 20th anniversary of its theatrical debut, Constantine is getting a 4K Blu-ray release on Feb. 18. As for the sequel, Constantine 2 is officially in active development but there’s still no word on when production will begin.