Jenna Coleman, who is set to play Johanna Constantine in Netflix's upcoming adaptation of The Sandman, has spoken about how her character differs from the magician John Constantine. Based on the comic series penned by Neil Gaiman, plans for an adaptation of The Sandman languished in the development pipeline for years until Netflix signed a deal to produce the series in 2019. The Sandman season 1, set to star Tom Sturridge as Dream, is planned to hit the streaming giant on August 5.

In April last year, Coleman was announced to be playing the role of Lady Johanna Constantine, a character who appears in the original Sandman comics and is the 18th-century ancestor of John Constantine (a role previously brought to life in the Arrowverse by Matt Ryan). Confusion would follow shortly thereafter when it was also announced that Coleman would, in fact, be playing dual roles and that she would also be portraying a modern-day character named Johanna Constantine, an alternate female version of the popular DC character John Constantine. Gaiman himself would later explain the rationale for this change was entirely down to practical reasons, though it also had the added benefit of skirting some potential problematic rights issues with the character.

Related: The Sandman's Johanna Constantine Explained

Now Coleman herself has spoken with exclusively Screen Rant about her role in the series, and how her Johanna Constantine will differ from the John Constantine fans are more familiar with. Suggesting that “the essence” of John Constantine “is very much there”, her character will seemingly be in much better standing than that of her male counterpart, even serving the royal family as an exorcist. Check out her full comments below:

[Showrunner] Allan Heinberg was very keen on [how] this is Johanna Constantine upgraded. This is now Johanna Constantine who is an exorcist to the royal family. She's earning money, she's doing well for herself. She's at the top of her game. But in terms of essence, [she's a] roguish, dry cynic, but really this kind of wounded lone warrior. The essence is very much there. We're just meeting her at a different time.

The Sandman Morpheus and Johanna Constantine

From what fans have seen from trailers, The Sandman's Johanna Constantine even bares a physical resemblance to John, with the character choosing to don his trademark trenchcoat. From Coleman’s comments, however, it would seem that fans should not expect her Constantine to be as far down on her luck as what they’ve come to expect from John. With her counting royalty amongst her clientele, she also seems to be moving in very different social circles. Nonetheless, at heart, both characters are still seemingly cut from the same cloth and will share a similar cynical worldview and dry wit.

Of course, the decision to replace John Constantine with Johanna has not been without controversy. Much like the decision to cast Gwendoline Christie in the role of Lucifer, Netflix’s approach to the original Gaiman comics has often found itself willing to divert from the source material when deemed necessary. While some parts of the fandom may not be overly receptive to such changes, The Sandman's approach to Johanna Constantine offers a fresh take on the character and ultimately should be judged on the merits of the final product alone.

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