Hot on the heels of news that Fox had committed to a straight-to-series called ‘Gotham’ that would chronicle the early years of James Gordon, comes word that NBC is developing a pilot based on another DC character, John Constantine!
The star of the long-running Vertigo series ‘Hellblazer’, Constantine is the very definition of an anti-hero– rude, chain smoking, self-serving and always with an ace up his sleeve. The con man character will find himself forced to investigate mysteries outside the realm of normal comprehension. He currently stars in his own comic book series, as well as ‘Justice League Dark’ which focuses on the supernatural side of the DC Universe. The character was previously brought to life in the live action movie ‘Constantine’ (2005) with Keanu Reeves portraying the title character. The character also appears in Guillermo Del Toro’s script for a feature film that would star the mystical characters from DC’s catalog that he said may become known as ‘Justice League Dark.’
David S. Goyer, the screenwriter for ‘Man of Steel’ and the upcoming ‘Batman Vs. Superman‘ will tackle the script along with Daniel Cerone of ‘The Mentalist.’ Coincidentally, another alum of ‘The Mentalist’, Bruno Heller is producing ‘Gotham’. Another coincidence, John Constantine was co-created by Alan Moore for the comic series ‘The Saga of the Swamp Thing.’ Another Moore comic creation, ‘The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen‘ has been picked up for as pilot on Fox. (Which, if it bears any resemblance to the atrocious 2003 movie, we can only hope never sees the light of day.)
Goyer and Cerone have a “script plus penalty” agreement, meaning they get paid whether the pilot ever gets made or not.
So with ‘Arrow’ already a solid hit, with plans to spin off ‘The Flash’ as well, plus ‘Gotham’ and now ‘Constantine’ DC really seems to be upping their game. First there was ‘Man of Steel’ on the big screen, then Ben Affleck will be playing a new take on Batman and rumors are swirling that Wonder Woman may factor in as well… it looks like DC/Warner Brothers is really letting loose, leaving no stone unturned in an effort to saturate all markets with its brand.
Will it succeed? What do you think? Are you excited to see John Constantine on a weekly basis?
