Constantine 2 is back in the spotlight after director Francis Lawrence said departing DC leadership was an obstacle to the long-delayed Keanu Reeves sequel.
In a Collider interview published November 11, Lawrence said the team behind the 2005 film has spent more than two decades trying to make a follow-up. He said they now have an idea and a script, but described “the people that were at DC” as “an impediment” to making it.
Lawrence did not frame the leadership change as something to celebrate. He told Collider he did not want anyone to lose a job, but said the sequel now has “renewed hope” because the people he saw as blocking the project are leaving DC’s top creative structure.
He also said the key creative group still wants to make the movie. That group includes Reeves, screenwriter and producer Akiva Goldsman, and producer J.J. Abrams, according to Lawrence’s comments.
The leadership change reshapes the decision
Skydance announced a major DC Studios leadership change on November 9 during a wider ownership reset. James Gunn and Peter Safran will step away from their leadership roles, while Jeremy Latcham is set to become president and chief creative officer of DC Studios on December 1, 2026.
Latcham will oversee DC’s film, television, and animation slate, including the creative pipeline, production, talent, and strategy. That gives Lawrence a new decision-maker to persuade.
No updated production start, release date, or official greenlight has been announced for the sequel. Lawrence’s comments show optimism from the creative side, not a studio commitment.
A separate John Constantine film is also in play
The timing is complicated by another Constantine project. Deadline reported on November 5 that DC Studios had tapped Francis Galluppi to write a John Constantine movie in early development, with no other attachments known. TheWrap also reported that the project was in the works and said DC Studios had no comment.
Lawrence addressed the overlap by arguing that another version of John Constantine and a Reeves sequel could coexist. His case is that the 2005 film’s continuity could live separately from whatever DC may want to do with the character in a shared universe. He said the decision would come down to people at Paramount, Warner, and DC getting behind “our version” of the character.
That is a familiar issue for DC, which has often balanced connected franchise plans with stand-alone or Elseworlds-style projects. The question now is whether Latcham’s DC Studios wants a Reeves-led legacy sequel, a new Constantine, or both.
The 2005 film remains the business question
Constantine was released in 2005 with Reeves as a Los Angeles-based version of John Constantine. Box Office Mojo lists the film at about $230.9 million worldwide.
That makes the sequel pitch different from a full reboot. It has a recognizable star, a known title, and a long-running fan campaign behind it. It also asks new DC leadership to revive a 21-year-old continuity from before several rounds of DC franchise resets.
Reeves told Inverse in February 2025 that the team had put a story together, pitched it to DC Studios, and received an “Okay” to try writing a script. Lawrence’s latest comments suggest the creative side has moved forward since then. The institutional side still has not.
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