It looks like comic book heroes (or anti-heroes) aren’t going to be contained to the big screen. ‘Arrow’ was already a breakout hit for The CW and this past TV season, ABC debuted ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ as a TV tie-in to their hit movies. In addition, The CW is producing a Flash pilot that is very likely to get picked up as a full series, and the same goes for Fox who commissioned (pun intended) a pilot for ‘Gotham’ focusing on James Gordan’s early career. And let’s not forget the number one show on TV, ‘The Walking Dead’ is based on a comic. Now the John Constantine pilot for NBC has been greenlighted.
John Constantine is a smarmy con man turned supernatural investigator in DC Comics. He originally appeared in ‘Saga of the Swamp Thing‘ as a supporting character before headlining his own critically acclaimed and commercially successful series ‘Hellblazer’. In the comics, he currently stars in his own book ‘Constantine’ and headlines ‘Justice League Dark’, the supernatural version of the classic super group. The character was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette and Jamie Delano. In 2005, the character was loosely adapted to a movie, with Keanu Reeves portraying the normally British and blond character. (It wasn’t godawful, but not exactly close to the source material at the same time.) John Constantine is also slated to play a large role in Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Dark World’/’Justice League Dark’ movie that has been in development for a while now.
Yes, ‘Constantine’ will be a comic adaptation, but he isn’t much of a “super hero” in the traditional sense. He doesn’t have a code name or a costume, aside from his signature trenchcoat. Like ‘The Walking Dead’, to the uninitiated, this might not even come across as a comic book-themed show.
Also, this show will only work if they cast the right lead…
James Marsters. The end. There, casting directors, I’ve done the work for you. He’s the only person for the job. He’s going to have to bleach his hair back to Spike blond, but I can’t imagine a more perfect candidate.
What do you think? Are you intrigued to see a Constantine TV show? Who would you like to see in the role?
