Collider’s Steve Weintraub hosted the virtual panel, emceeing a wide-ranging discussion about Constantine with its principals: actor Keanu Reeves, director Francis Lawrence and producer Akiva Goldsman. They delved deep into Constantine, an early DC comic book movie about an occult detective, that was released in 2005. This adaptation received lukewarm reviews at the time, in part because of how it diverged from the source material, but aged well considering it came after Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy and the Marvel Cinematic Universe became the juggernaut that it is today. The movie now feels like its ahead of its time – a sentiment that made this panel a compelling one.
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The anniversary for Constantine became a celebration of its finer points. Reeves spoke about his ethos for choosing the role and the movie’s Los Angeles roots while Goldsmith and Lawrence talked about its production history and comic book influences.
Even though it’d been 15 years since the movie premiered, all three were eager to help put the movie in perspective from the comforts of their own homes. Reeves said he wasn’t familiar with the character when his manager at the time first gave it to him and after some research realized he, “wasn’t British and not blonde.” He added later that he liked that his character was a “humanitarian cynic.”
There is also the bit of insight from Lawrence and Goldsman that the film was initially ignored by Warner Bros. until executives saw a test screening of the film. The discussion went on to cover the post-credits scene, a battle with the MPAA that led to Constantine’s eventual R-rating, the film’s unique visual style, and the possibility of a sequel. The entire conversation would satisfy anyone that enjoys hearing about how movies were made.
If the purpose of a film anniversary is to give the movie its proper place in our cultural zeitgeist then this panel was the perfect anniversary present.
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Source: Comic-Con/YouTube
