Francis Lawrence, who directed the 2005 film “Constantine,” says he feels “more hopeful” that a sequel starring Keanu Reeves will get made now that James Gunn and Peter Safran are leaving DC Studios. Lawrence told Collider that the studio’s former leadership stood in the way of the project, calling them an “impediment,” though he said he did not want anyone to lose a job. He said the decision now sits with executives at Paramount, Warner Bros. and whoever runs DC, who must agree to back a follow-up to his version of the character.
Paramount Skydance announced Gunn and Safran’s departure on Nov. 9, and former Marvel executive Jeremy Latcham takes over as president and chief creative officer on Dec. 1. A DC Studios representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap.
The sequel has languished since Warner Bros. announced it in 2022, with Reeves and Lawrence set to return, Akiva Goldsman writing and J.J. Abrams producing. Reeves told Inverse in 2025 that he and Lawrence had spent more than a decade trying to make it, and that DC Studios gave them a go-ahead to write a script after they pitched a story. Lawrence said in 2023 that the effort faced hurdles, including regaining control of the character from other rights holders and delays from the writers’ strike. Gunn said on a podcast last year that he had discussed the sequel on and off, and he and Safran never moved it forward.
A rival project complicates the picture. Days before the leadership change, DC Studios hired Francis Galluppi, who made “Evil Dead Wrath,” to write a separate John Constantine film. That movie remains in very early development and has not been canceled. Lawrence said the two films can coexist. In his view, DC can pursue a new version of the character for its shared universe while still allowing the Reeves sequel, which he called “our version.”
Nothing is approved. No production date exists, and Latcham has not said how he will handle DC’s slate. Lawrence, whose “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping” opens in theaters later this month, said the project depends on the new leadership deciding that fans of the original deserve a sequel.
