Keanu Reeves’ ‘Constantine’ Returns to Max as Sequel Slowly Awakens

John Constantine is back from the dead—again. Keanu Reeves’ 2005 cult comic-book thriller Constantine, loosely adapted from DC/Vertigo’s Hellblazer series, has quietly returned to streaming on Max, giving fans a fresh chance to revisit one of DC’s strangest, moodiest page-to-screen experiments while long-gestating sequel plans inch forward.

From Hellblazer Underdog to Cult Favorite

Directed by Francis Lawrence, Constantine reimagines the chain-smoking occult detective as a weary, L.A.-based exorcist who knows he’s damned and is just trying to tip the scales before time runs out. The film mashed together noir, religious horror, and comic-book mythology, drawing heavily—if not always faithfully—from the grim, sardonic tone of the Hellblazer comics.

At the box office, it was more purgatory than paradise. The movie earned about $231 million worldwide on a reported $100 million budget—respectable, but not the breakout hit Warner Bros. hoped for, especially for a DC property. That lukewarm theatrical run left the film’s legacy to be rebuilt on home video, cable, and, increasingly, streaming, where its unapologetically dark vision finally found its people.

That slow-burn fandom has only grown. In early 2025, Warner Bros. released the film in 4K on Blu-ray and digital, with Lawrence overseeing the restoration and emphasizing the movie’s distinctive atmosphere and visual world-building. The upgrade doubled as a reminder that Hellblazer remains one of comics’ most influential supernatural series, still driving demand for graphic novel reprints decades after its launch.

For readers tracking how books and comics reshape streaming, Netflix’s own data on adaptation dominance shows just how often stories like Constantine quietly power what we watch.

Sequel Hopes, Darker Tones, and What Comes Next

The film’s return to Max lands at a key moment for the character. Reeves has spent years saying he’d love to play Constantine again, recently telling interviewers he’s “aching” to revisit the role as he and Lawrence continue to push a sequel forward. DC Studios co-head James Gunn has confirmed he’s spoken with Reeves about Constantine 2, though he’s admitted he hasn’t seen a finished script yet.

Fans and cast members have been vocal about what they want from any sequel: a commitment to the original film’s bleak, character-driven tone rather than a quip-heavy superhero pivot. That meshes with the comics’ reputation; Hellblazer, published under DC’s Vertigo imprint for most of its run, helped define a whole strain of urban, occult horror that treated magic less like a superpower and more like a curse.

The franchise’s renewed visibility across streaming and home media is also feeding interest back into the books. With the film getting anniversary restorations and a new streaming window, the long-running Hellblazer trades are primed for another wave of discovery—much as other literary and comics properties have seen after high-profile adaptations, from Denis Johnson’s Train Dreams to sprawling fantasy series finding second lives on TV.

For now, Constantine on Max offers a perfect snapshot of a weirder, riskier era of comic adaptations—and a reminder of why readers still cling to John Constantine’s smoke-wreathed corner of the DC universe. Whether or not Constantine 2 finally crawls out of development hell, the character’s roots in Hellblazer ensure that the books will keep haunting shelves long after this streaming run ends.