Executive producers David S. Goyer (the Dark Knight trilogy, Batman vs Superman, Justice League screenwriter) and Daniel Cerone promised that you do not have to be into comics or know anything at all about Constantine in order to get into the new NBC series. Constantine, starring Matt Ryan in the title role, will debut on October 24, 2014 and at the San Diego Comic-Con, Cerone and Goyer were paired up to discuss the first season of the show.
Addressing my question regarding the accessibility of the series, Goyer said, “I’ve had a hand in some comic book adaptations before and the trick with all of those – even using a fairly obscure character like Blade – is to sort of stay true to the character’s DNA so that comic book fans appreciate it and don’t turn on you, but at the same time open it up to people like my wife or my mom who don’t give a crap about comic books.”
“Well, I’ll also say before Constantine was introduced in Swamp Thing nobody knew anything about Constantine,” added Cerone. “We’re picking the entry point of our TV show – he’s the same guy, he’s at the same point immediately after Newcastle that comic book fans met him. That’s the Constantine that our viewers are going to meet, and we’re going to roll that story out. There’s a lot of talk when we were pitching the show of, ‘Is he going to have demon’s blood in him? Is he going to trick the devil?’ There’s so many great things we haven’t answered yet, there’s so many great things that happen in his evolution, but we’re starting at ground zero. So we fully intend to introduce a character that everybody can get to know together at the same time and then just take that journey forward.”
“I will also say that there’s a perception certainly of comic books being costumed superheroes and comic books, there a lot of different genres that are covering comic books. Ghost World was a comic book and Road to Perdition was based on a comic book, and American Splendor. And the thing about Constantine is it’s a supernatural horror story so it owes as much to things like The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby and The Omen, things that appeal to a broad audience. It’s not a costumed character show; it’s a supernatural show,” explained Goyer.
Goyer and Cerone also talked about what sets Constantine apart from other supernatural properties, and they addressed the whole ‘will Constantine smoke in the series or won’t he’ controversy:
