🐱 DC Reportedly Casting BIPOC Constantine for New Series

https://www.cbr.com/constantine-series-hbo-max-jj-abrams/

A new Constantine series is reportedly on the horizon for HBO Max, and the program could see a BIPOC performer take on the role of the Hellblazer

According to The Illumnerdi, HBO Max is partnering up with the J.J. Abrams studio Bad Robot Productions on a Constantine TV show. This incarnation of the character will have a dark tone with a heavy emphasis on horror rather than religious elements. Notably, the show is currently looking to secure a BIPOC performer in the mold of Riz Ahmed to take on the part of John Constantine.


Abrams is currently working on an HBO Max series based on Justice League Dark, a team that frequently employs Constantine among its ranks. However, it's unclear if this new Constantine show would be connected to that production.

John Constantine has been a staple of the DC Universe for decades, while his most prolific live-action incarnation came with a 2005 movie starring Keanu Reeves. The project took liberties with the source material but proved a decent box office hit with a $230.88 million worldwide gross and has garnered a cult following in the years since its release.

Constantine also previously headlined a series on NBC. Though it only lasted 13 episodes, Matt Ryan, the actor tasked with playing this version of Constantine, has gone on to reprise the role as a series regular on DC's Legends of Tomorrow.

 

[ArthuriusMartyrius]

Except that the skin color is basically the entire point of the character. He's supposed to represent the power of old money corruption and the entrenched white power structure. A black kingpin misses the mark entirely. Vincent D'Onofrio was really good in the part, imo.

Nah, Kingpin's character is basically goofy fat guy that's actually a major crime lord, he ain't old money. That's it. Unlike, say, Batman, where Bruce Wayne's white colonial origins are kinda important to his overall background, it's not really as important to Wilson Fisk to remain a white guy, though obviously I wouldn't like them just changing Fisk to Blisk on a dime. MCD just happened to be a case where it actually worked out, since aside from the skin color, he really had the build and presence.

D'Onofrio was great but it still felt like he was missing some of the physical presence of the Kingpin. I also thought they hammered a bit too much on him being a manchild who throws violent temper tantrums.

 

[Scarlett Johansson]

They are allegedly looking at Riz Ahmed. Lol dirty Arab gay sex punishable by death.

Riz is allegedly a rapist.

Matt is perfection. He deserves better than CW trash and he wanted bi!Constantine on the NBC show.

 

[Snekposter]

This incarnation of the character will have a dark tone with a heavy emphasis on horror rather than religious elements.

I'm sorry. How can you have what is literally a battle between heaven and hell for the souls of all mankind (only saw the movie, so please correct me if I'm wrong on that bit) without religious elements?

 

[Next Task]

>Your favorite character gets Blackwashed/Fagwashed/Gingercided
Thems' the breaks, kiddos. Just relax and CONSOOM.

2 out of 5 of those show that it can be done well, if there's careful consideration and the right actor. I think both Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Clarke Duncan are great in their roles; in general the Marvel movies (not the comics, my god not the comics) do a pretty good job of it when they racebend a character. The closest to being egregious based on the characters were Heimdall and The Ancient One, and by casting Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton they made it easy to defend those choices, because they're both awesome. And of course the wokists only care about whitewashing so they pitched a fit about the latter, ignoring that a) Mordo was racebent in the film as well, and b) it was entirely for the Chinese audience that the character wasn't Tibetan.

Of course, they're constantly threatening to throw that goodwill away with the next films, perhaps not realising that they need to play it safe now that so many people thought Endgame was a perfect jumping-off point. I know I'm wary about any of the films coming after Black Widow, and it feels like Disney, using the press as proxy, is constantly testing the waters to see if they can randomly wokeify random characters for the brownie points.

The DC superheroes, especially on TV, are a different story, though. As far as I can tell all the CW shows went unbearably Current Year at some point, some like Supergirl much sooner rather than later. And Constantine is already a bi Brit with a very specific reference point for his look from the creator, to the point that Keanu in the movie was lambasted by the fans for being all wrong. Adding to it would be just alienating the fans more.

Of course, a lot of this might just be to stir up controversy for clicks and attention because nothing gets people on the internet reacting more than anger. So a way to rile up fans and put the name out there by suggesting they'll change the character in this way is just them making people fight to increase their revenue. Which is why identity politics is a cancer, because now the race of the actor cast in the role is going to overshadow anything else they do to fuck up the concept. So just fuck the corporations in general for the entire situation.

 

[CatParty]

I'm sorry. How can you have what is literally a battle between heaven and hell for the souls of all mankind (only saw the movie, so please correct me if I'm wrong on that bit) without religious elements?

Lol I glossed over that so they want a black guy doing horror stuff. They want to make blade lol

 

[Product Placement]

Why, just make a show based on any of the Milestone Media characters, Ryan Choi Atom, Vixen, Michael Holt Mister Terrific or countless others.

If you think lack of racial diversity is a issue, turning a white character in another race won't solve the issue, after all not like it will change the comic books, if they really care create a new character which could get added to the comics or pick someone that already fits the bill, allowing the character to get more spotlight and to grown the brand aware of that character more.

 

[Daughter of Cernunnos]

HBO doing capeshit? There's too many "gritty" comic book shows already.

 

[Spoonge]

I'm sorry. How can you have what is literally a battle between heaven and hell for the souls of all mankind (only saw the movie, so please correct me if I'm wrong on that bit) without religious elements?

Constantine in the comics was the man trapped between Heaven and Hell and doing his best to ruin both their days. He was a humanist that fucked over both sides before they could fuck over mankind. One of his first arcs involves taking the virginity of a woman to stop the second coming of Jesus because Heaven wont fuck anything that ain't a virgin.
And there isnt really a battle like in the movie, John didnt fight in a war and he certainly didnt fight for Heaven, and he dealt with a lot of other supernatural shit in the comics. One of the most touching is when he helps the ghost of a homeless man that died in the cold to move on.

But yes, Heaven and Hell are integral parts of the Hellblazer world. Demons and angels make up a lot of side characters. They cant do any worthwhile adaptation without the Christian mythology and symbology. Just like they cant do it without the weird pagan shit either.

Didn't they have Chas as a zombie or something. I was hella stoked for that show but it stuffed up everything.

Yeah they fucked a lot up for Chas and the psychic hoe that was meant to be Zed. But Matt Ryan was a pitch perfect Constantine. Keanu was good in the movie but he was more of a straight noir protagonist than that twisty fuck John.

 

[CWCissey]

For fuckssakes, they can't even get what city Constantine is from right, now they're wilfully getting his race wrong?

 

[Snekposter]

Thanks for clarifying the actual background for me. Still not surprised they want to remove Christianity since its Current Year after all.

 

[Unpaid Emotional Labourer]

BIPOC means black people paying lip service to indigenous people because otherwise they get called out on how the indigenous have it worse than blacks. So they pretend they’re included and then keep ignoring them.

BIPOC always really just means black. This means a black Constantine, no other option.

 

[Parallel Moon]

It's the opposite. BIPOC came about literally because a) the activist community is insanely racist against Asians (whether it be the dot or yellow variety), mostly because b) they constantly disprove the idea it's all whitey's fault. Black and Indigenous People of Color gatekeeps Pajeets or Pings from counting towards their oppression index.
It's an evolution of their tactics to push blacks and other ghetto poors vs. anyone with a functional, upwardly mobile culture.

Eh. It mostly just means black though. 99% of these articles that use it are talking about blacks. I e never seen it in the context of promoting something about a Native American for instance.

 

[Absolutego]

Eh. It mostly just means black though. 99% of these articles that use it are talking about blacks. I e never seen it in the context of promoting something about a Native American for instance.

Latinos try to use it, they just don't get national traction for race activism outside of the context of immigration.

 

[kcbbq]

We need to go back to the days of Superman III where they rewrote Richard Pryor's entire character to not be Braniac and to be a bumbling idiot because he'd have to be smart to be Braniac and black people can't be smart.

 

[Lord Neeba]

Thanks for clarifying the actual background for me. Still not surprised they want to remove Christianity since its Current Year after all.

I am surprised, if only because Heaven/God/Angels are portrayed negatively by most Constantine stories as far as I know.

 

[CatParty]

We need to go back to the days of Superman III where they rewrote Richard Pryor's entire character to not be Braniac and to be a bumbling idiot because he'd have to be smart to be Braniac and black people can't be smart.

It also gets credit for a final destination style opening scene

 

[Chan the Wizard]

It should be FTM person of color preferably a black and indigenous (aborigines and Inuits are very underrepresented) mix and they should be Jewish (but only the non-Zionist kind) or Muslim.

 

[pwnest injun]

Nah, Kingpin's character is basically goofy fat guy that's actually a major crime lord, he ain't old money. That's it. Unlike, say, Batman, where Bruce Wayne's white colonial origins are kinda important to his overall background, it's not really as important to Wilson Fisk to remain a white guy, though obviously I wouldn't like them just changing Fisk to Blisk on a dime. MCD just happened to be a case where it actually worked out, since aside from the skin color, he really had the build and presence.

D'Onofrio was great but it still felt like he was missing some of the physical presence of the Kingpin. I also thought they hammered a bit too much on him being a manchild who throws violent temper tantrums.

I never really read Daredevil, so I had always assumed he was sort of like The Butcher character from Gangs of New York. The sort of criminal element that's baked into the system, who owns the cops and the judges and is just untouchable because of it. TY for the clarification.

Eh. It mostly just means black though. 99% of these articles that use it are talking about blacks. I e never seen it in the context of promoting something about a Native American for instance.

The last thing that black or injun people need is more associations with majick bullshit. Like why not make him a gypsy hunchback and he casts curses at people and they have to rub his hump for good luck so it goes away? Fukkin hacks..

 

[Dang Woodchucks!]

Last time Constantine was in the air, the execs got cold feet over La Brujeria and the implication that an angel was running what was effectively a real estate scam on souls. Putting this shit on a streaming service and changing the character's race won't do jack shit when the Karens that get offended when folklore more complex than "corpse paint during Dia de Los Muertos" pops up and give them the heebie-jeebies.

It's gonna crash and burn and it won't even have the "loveable dumpster fire" quality most of the CW shows built up.

 

[Alexander Thaut]

Why, just make a show based on any of the Milestone Media characters, Ryan Choi Atom, Vixen, Michael Holt Mister Terrific or countless others.

If you think lack of racial diversity is a issue, turning a white character in another race won't solve the issue, after all not like it will change the comic books, if they really care create a new character which could get added to the comics or pick someone that already fits the bill, allowing the character to get more spotlight and to grown the brand aware of that character more.

they tried making Michael Holt into a gay black man in Arrow and turned him into the goofiest stereotype of a gay black man possible.

I'm not fucking kidding you, dude acted like a Redditor but on screen. It was fucking embarrassing considering the comic's Michael Holt/Mr. Terrific has always been a pretty substantial badass. Yes, even his 2010s era edition has been decent.

The CW Mr. Terrific was one step away from saying yowza massah AND talking like a flamboyant gay man all the time. His character was constantly mood swinging so much that it was insane.