With the successful showing of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” on global theaters late last month, Warner Bros and DC Comics seem intent on expanding the DC Extended Universe on the movies and the small screen.
As it is, after “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” Warner Bros and DC Comics will showcase the “Suicide Squad” in August on the big screen.
Over at the small screen, DC Comics have already established itself way ahead of Marvel Comics with five adaptations including “Arrow,” “The Flash,” “Legends of Tomorrow,” “Gotham,” and “Supergirl.”
It could have been six by this time if not for NBC cancelling the second season of the supernatural drama TV series “Constantine” starring Matt Ryan.
NBC was apparently disappointed with the live ratings of “Constantine,” pointing to an over-saturation of comic-inspired TV series. Network officials said back then that they wish that the show had done better live but it did not. “Constantine” did not come out the way they wanted it to. As much as they love the show, from the business standpoint, it won’t do the network well, details Screen Crush.
When NBC cancelled “Constantine” in May last year, there were attempts to have the network reconsider its decision. One of them is through a petition, which unfortunately did not muster enough number of signatures for NBC to even give a second thought about its decision.
The other effort is courtesy of “Constantine” executive producer Daniel Cerone who went out of his way to liaise with other networks in order to rescue the show from cancellation. He gave himself until the end of June but unfortunately, nothing came out of it so he finally gave up.
Opened up possibility of revival
Cerone was perhaps among the first few people who got excited when Matt Ryan played John Constantine once again recently in a cameo appearance in “Arrow” on The CW.
While Ryan’s guesting on “Arrow” momentarily opened the possibility that “Constantine” may get revived by another network, the former showrunner eventually accepted the fact that the show is over and done with.
Thus, he has moved on to become one of the writers of the American crime drama TV series “The Blacklist” also on NBC which is now in its third season. The show has already been renewed for Season 4 so it is likely that Cerone will have a bigger role in the next season.
Following Matt Ryan’s guesting on “Arrow” in an episode of Season 4 late last year, there have been talks that his John Constantine character may appear again in future episodes of “Arrow” or the other superhero drama TV series on The CW based on DC Comics including “The Flash” and “Legends of Tomorrow.”
A one-off deal
However, it seems that John Constantine would not be appearing on “Arrow” anytime soon or perhaps even in the future.
According to “Arrow” executive producer Marc Guggenheim, Constantine’s appearance on The CW series has been planned even before NBC cancelled “Constantine” in the spring of last year.
Guggenheim said that it was just a one-off deal which came out as a result of the previous discussion of a crossover between “Constantine” and “Arrow.” But since “Constantine” has already been cancelled, Ryan and Stephen Amell pushed through with the deal just the same just for one time.
The rumors of the possible return of John Constantine on “Arrow” started when the episode that featured his character was well-received by fans and critics alike, even recording an 11% jump in the ratings of “Arrow” during that November 4 episode.
It’s water under the bridge now but “Constantine” would have been in the second half of its supposed Season 2 by this time on NBC had the show not been cancelled in May last year, just weeks after its Season 1 finale.