The Constantine reboot may have its lead as Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù is reportedly being eyed for the lead role in the HBO Max drama. For the last couple of years, John Constantine has been an active player in the DC live-action world through Matt Ryan. After his NBC series got canceled after only one season, Matt Ryan's iteration of the character became a regular player in the Arrowverse, primarily on Legends of Tomorrow. Ryan has also gone on to voice Constantine in multiple DC animated projects over the years.
However, the Hellblazer is now being prepared for a new adventure by filmmaker J.J. Abrams, who is currently developing a Justice League Dark franchise. Not only is a TV show being worked on for the supernatural team, but various characters are getting their own films and series that will be part of the same universe. One of the properties is a Constantine reboot from writer Guy Bolton with Abrams as an executive producer. While there hasn't been a lot of movement on the project since the initial announcement, Constantine is looking to start production this year under the working title Chimney.
But in order to get Constantine into the swing of things, the show needs to find the next Hellblazer, and it looks like HBO Max may have found their lead. According to a new report from The Illuminerdi, HBO Max is eyeing British-Nigerian actor Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù for the lead role. The 31-year-old actor's resume includes the TV shows Gangs of London, Humans, and The Halcyon, and movies such as The Huntsman: Winter's War, Silent Night, and the upcoming Mr. Malcolm's List. Dìrísù has also taken his acting to the stage in One Night in Miami and several other theater productions.
It's worth noting that if this report turns out to be accurate, Dìrísù being considered doesn't mean he has signed on for Constantine yet. In many cases, actors who become candidates for various roles can go either way. Sometimes, they end up officially being cast, while in other scenarios, they get considered before ultimately having a different star be booked. Dìrísù's casting report comes shortly after character breakdowns emerged for supporting players on Constantine. If Dìrísù lands the gig, he would then likely be seen in Justice League Dark and potentially in other projects related to the new franchise.
With Constantine eyeing a fall production, which would run into early 2023, fans will likely find out sooner rather than later if Dìrísù will headline the series. Aside from the Hellblazer reboot, Abrams is also executive producing a Madame X (a.k.a. Madame Xanadu) series for HBO Max with executive producer and writer Angela Robinson. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions is also working on a Zatanna film with Emerald Fennell writing the script. If Constantine gets rolling as planned, fans will ideally start to see progress on the other announced Justice League Dark projects, too.
Source: The Illuminerdi