Nothing can keep John Constantine down for long. Not demons, not monsters, and certainly not the cancellation of his show.
For those of us who were fans of the short-lived Constantine series over on NBC, its cancellation still leaves a bitter taste in our mouths — especially with the questions lingering from its finale. It was tough to swallow the decision, with all the potential for the character fizzling out like a flash in the pan.
But then, the CW gave us a glimmer of hope, when John Constantine made a brief (but notable) appearance on Arrow — assisting with the then-recent resurrection of Sara Lance, via the Lazarus Pit. Because, of course, who better a person to turn to about all things occult than the Master Petty Dabbler of the Dark Arts himself?
Though Constantine’s appearance was well-received on Arrow, The CW insisted that it didn’t have any further plans for the character. And that, it seemed, was that for Constantine’s brief existence on our television screens.
Until now.
As announced at The CW’s panel at the Television Critics Association winter press tour, Constantine will be making the jump to CW Seed as an animated show. Greg Berlanti will serve as Executive Producer, while David S. Goyer will return as a writer.
Matt Ryan, who played the titular character both on the NBC series and Arrow, will also return to voice John Constantine.
The series will, like Vixen before it, run between six and seven episodes, with a duration of 10 minutes each.
It remains to be seen what else this might mean for the character moving forward. But as precedent has already been set for characters from CW Seed crossing over into the Arrow-verse, it wouldn’t be too much to hope for Constantine to receive the same treatment.
We also have our first look at the series, thanks to a poster released at the time of the announcement.
No announcement has been made on whether the animated show will follow on directly from the live-action series, or instead focus on John Constantine’s misadventures since his appearance on Arrow. We do know, after all, that he somehow ended up in Hell.
Regardless, having Constantine back on the DC-show roster is a welcome, if surprising, return. John Constantine is, after all, notoriously difficult to keep down.