When NBC’s Constantine was on the air, it never had the opportunity to cross over with other shows, but it almost did. During its first season, there were discussions about John Constantine guest starring on an episode of Arrow, thus connecting it to the DC TV universe home at The CW. NBC has since canceled the mystical series and it wasn’t able to find a home on another service, but there may still a chance of seeing the chain-smoking occultist on the small screen again, after all.
This past weekend at San Diego Comic-Con, Arrow executive producer Wendy Mericle told IGN that the team is still in talks to use John Constantine in a future season of the Emerald Archer’s show. Mericle said:
Yeah, we really want to do it. It’s something we've been talking to DC about and it's just a question of some political things, but also the actor's schedule. We're trying to work it out, but we don't know 100% if it's going to happen.
Series lead Amell followed her statement by saying, “Fingers crossed.” If Arrow can get everything in order, including getting actor Matt Ryan to reprise John Constantine, now is the most opportune time. Season 4 will delve more into the world of magic in both the present-day storyline and Oliver’s flashbacks. Presumably, some of this will be through introducing Damien Darhk, a former League of Assassins member who uses the Lazarus Pit water to stay young, and his organization H.I.V.E. This universe already has S.T.A.R. Labs to help explain superpowers, but Constantine’s experience fighting otherwordly forces would help bridge the gap between Arrow’s crime fighting roots and DC’s magical side.
If Ryan does play John Constantine on Arrow, the big question is whether he would be playing the same Constantine fans watched from October 2014-February 2015 (a.k.a. the one fighting the Rising Darkness and such) or instead a different version of the character played by the same actor. The latter would be analogous to how Judi Dench played two versions of M in the James Bond films. However, if it does end up being the NBC version of John Constantine, another question would be whether we will see his supporting cast also return, like Chas, Zed and the angel Manny. As with Ryan, it will depend on whether or not contracts can be drawn up since the actors' original deals expired last month. That said, because that trench coat-wearing smart-ass is the main prize, getting the rest of the gang back would assumedly be less of a priority.
Arrow returns with new episodes on Wednesday, October 7 at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.
