Matt Ryan's Constantine Coming To DC/WB Animation

Warner Bros. Animation is having huge success with their DC animated feature films that go straight to Blu-ray.  In fact, the excitement behind their upcoming Batman: The Killing Joke, which is based off of the graphic novel of the same name which was created by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland, caused Warner Bros. to hold a special screening of the film in movie theaters for one night only.  It sold out quickly, and it was expanded to a second night of screenings, as well.  This past Monday, the first of the two nights, it pulled in over $3 million, making it the third highest grossing film for the day, behind Star Trek Beyond and The Secret Life of Pets.  That's pretty impressive for an R-rated animated movie!


So what's next for DC and WB's animation department?  They've decided that what was originally planned to be a live action movie created by Guillermo del Toro, but has now fallen by the wayside, would be better as an animated movie, and that project is Justice League Dark.  A popular comic book series that ran from November 2011 to March 2015, it explores the mystical and magical side of the DC Universe.  While the film will include Justice League regulars like Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Batman (voiced by Jason O'Mara), the Justice League Dark team will include Swamp Thing, Zatana (Camilla Luddington), Deadman (Nicholas Turturro), and Jason Blood/Etrigan (a.k.a. The Demon, voiced by Ray Chase).  It will also be featuring Constantine, and fan favorite Matt Ryan will be returning to role to do the voice work for this project.  In case you've forgotten, Matt Ryan played Constantine on the short lived television series of the same name that aired on NBC.  This wasn't a good fit, for the network or the television show.  Like Supergirl, it should have originally aired on The CW.  Now, with The Vampire Diaries announcing that this will be their last season, and with Supernatural nearing the end of it's ride, The CW would be smart to bring this show back in the near future.  It would give them a show that deals with the same sort of things that the other two show kind of deal with (i.e. magic, demons, and creatures), and it would also already have a loyal fan-base ready to watch again   Sorry, I'm getting off topic...


Here's a quick description that I pulled from Screenrant.com on what we can expect from the upcoming Justice League Dark movie:


"The plot, from what we know so far, revolves around a crime wave perpetuated on a global scale by ordinary “law-abiding” citizens. It appears the wrongdoings are the work of dark forces seeking to remake the world in their image (they sure like doing that). In the wake of these inexplicable illicit activities, the beleaguered Justice League – which will include Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Green Lantern – begrudgingly turns to occult forces for aid."


They also say that Batman kind of "shadows" the group, as a skeptic that works alongside them.  It should be fun to see how the two groups interact when this film gets released.  there's no word yet on what the rating for the movie is going to be, but they are saying that even if it doesn't get the R-rating that The Killing Joke received, that doesn't mean that it won't stay true to the comic book.  It won't be "a toned down, kid-friendly" film.   The movie is supposed to be released on DVD and Blu-ray later this fall, so when an actual date gets announced, I'll let you know.  Batman: The Killing Joke will be available on DVD and Blu-ray next Tuesday (August 2).