Deadline has revealed that NBC has found its lead for the upcoming TV pilot Constantine, with the site reporting that Welsh actor Matt Ryan (The Tudors, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior) has signed on to play the supernatural detective John Constantine in an adaptation of DC’s Hellblazer. He’ll take over from Keanu Reeves who portrayed the character on the big screen back in 2005.
According to the site, the show “centers on John Constantine, an enigmatic and irreverent con man-turned-reluctant supernatural detective who is thrust into the role of defending us against dark forces from beyond. John Constantine is described as a working-lass Londoner with rakish good looks, scruffy blond hair, deadpan humor, and signature trench coat, who has been studying the dark arts since he was a teenager. When the daughter of a late friend is targeted by demons, Constantine steps in to save her.”
Constantine has been written by Daniel Cerone (The Mentalist) and DC regular David S. Goyer (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Man of Steel, Batman vs. Superman).