Constantine 2 director Francis Lawrence "more hopeful" after Gunn and Safran leave DC Studios

Centre · 2Francis Lawrence, director of the 2005 film Constantine, told Collider he has "renewed hope" that a sequel starring Keanu Reeves can go ahead after a leadership change at DC Studios. 1 2 Centre · 2According to Collider, Skydance announced on November 9 that James Gunn and Peter Safran are stepping down as co-heads of DC Studios, and Jeremy Latcham, who worked with Gunn on Guardians of the Galaxy, takes over as president and chief creative officer on December 1. 1 2 Left · 1The Independent reported that Gunn and Safran, who have run DC Studios since 2022, said on Monday they would step down from December after a four-year run with mixed box-office results, weeks after Paramount completed its acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery in October; it added that Gunn remains involved in Man of Tomorrow, the follow-up to 2025's Superman, due in cinemas in July 2027. 3

Centre · 2Lawrence, speaking to Collider's Steve Weintraub while promoting The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, said that he did not want anyone to lose their jobs, but that the team has been trying to make Constantine 2 for "20-something years" and "the people that were at DC were an impediment to us making it." 1 2 Centre · 2He said the project has an idea and a script, and that he, Reeves, writer Akiva Goldsman and producer J.J. Abrams all want to make it; getting it made depends on people at Paramount, Warner, "whoever’s running DC now". 1 2 Centre · 1Deadline recalled that in 2025 Gunn said on the BobaTalks podcast, "I've discussed it with Keanu [Reeves], but I have not read any script yet," and that Reeves had told Inverse earlier that year that he and Lawrence "pitched it to DC Studios and they said, 'OK.'" 4

Centre · 1Lawrence said he does not mind if DC plans a different John Constantine for a shared universe, arguing that the two versions "can coexist" if the studio lets his team make the sequel to their version. 1 Centre · 1He said the sequel would be a "hard-R" film, because the original was made expecting a PG-13 rating but received an R, which he said "pisses me off". 1 Centre · 1On budget, Lawrence said the film would not be made for $100 million and that he and Reeves would not charge "full freight", saying the team would have to "be scrappy about it". 1

Centre · 2Collider recalled that Warner Bros. began developing the sequel in 2022 with Goldsman writing and Abrams among the producers; Screen Rant added that the sequel was listed a month earlier among projects still in development under Skydance after Warner Bros. Discovery's merger with Paramount. 1 2 Centre · 1Deadline also noted that in 2023 Lawrence said the sequel had faced setbacks from the writers' strike and that the team had to "jump through a bunch of hurdles to get control of the character again", adding "We have control." 4 Left · 1The Independent noted that the 2005 film earned more than $230m worldwide against a reported $100m budget after mixed reviews, and that Reeves told Inverse in February 2025 the team had been trying to make the film "for over a decade". 3

Left · 1The A.V. Club, in a wry take, read Lawrence's remarks as treating Gunn and Safran as a "roadblock", noting Gunn had publicly stayed non-committal, and speculated about whether incoming chief Jeremy Latcham would be receptive; it called the new leadership one that "hasn't said no" yet. 5 Left · 1Screen Rant cautioned that the new leadership has yet to speak on the sequel, and that a separate Constantine film unrelated to Reeves' version, with Evil Dead Wrath's Francis Galluppi reportedly writing, was reported to be in early development; The Independent, citing The Wrap, said DC Studios hired Galluppi days before the exit to write and direct it, with no cast announced, and DC Studios has made no statement on that project. 3 Centre · 1No release date has been set for Constantine 2. 2

Left · 1Variety noted that The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, Lawrence's most recent film, opens in theaters on Nov. 20. 6