J.J. Abrams' DC Series CONSTANTINE Has Been Scrapped; New Details on How Far It Got Have Been Revealed

J.J. Abrams has been developing a whole slate of Justice League Dark-related series projects for DC and Max. One of them was a Constantine series, but that project is no longer moving forward as the studio decided to scrap it. With Keanu Reeves and Francis Lawrence currently developing a Constantine sequel for the studio, it makes sense that Abrams’ series would be the one to get scrapped.

The series was said to have been a “darker reboot” of the property and the creative team is looking to cast a diverse actor in the lead role. The project was going to be “a departure from the NBC series.

Variety reveals new details on how far the development of the show got along with some other information: "The new show had been far enough into development that a lead actor was already in talks to take on the lead role, but sources [confirm] to Variety that the Max project [is] dead. Four scripts were written for the series, which was set in contemporary London."

There’s no word on who the actor was that producers were looking to cast. If I had to choose between a Constantine project that was being developed by Abrams or a sequel to Keanu Reeves movie, I’d definitely go with the sequel.

In the comics, John Constantine is a British exorcist and occult detective who deals in the supernatural realm of DC and hunts demons. He is well-known for his scathing wit, endless cynicism, ruthless cunning and constant chain-smoking. A roguish counterculture antihero, Constantine is also a strident humanist driven by a heartfelt desire to defend mankind from the forces of evil.

Abrams is also said to have been developing DC projects around Zatanna, Deadman, Swamp-Thing, and more. I imagine those could be scrapped as well now that James Gunn and Peter Safran have taken over DC Studios. But, as of right now, there’s no update on those.