Matt Ryan’s depiction of John Constantine has experienced so many surprising twists in the afterlife it nearly resembles a Hellblazer story arc. Warner Bros. Television brought word of the latest development midday Monday: if DC’s Legends of Tomorrow returns for a fourth season, Ryan’s Constantine will be a series regular.
WBTV’s release to press didn’t expand on any further details, other than John Constantine would be among the main team members on the Waverider. It’s the culmination of a surprising turnaround following the one-season run of Constantine on NBC, from Oct. 2014 to Feb. 2015.
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While the Constantine series had only a brief run, Ryan’s well-regarded depiction of the cult-favorite DC character has endured. Despite Constantine not explicitly being part of The CW’s Arrowverse, Ryan appeared as the character on Arrow Season 4 episode “Haunted,” which aired in Nov. 2015. At the time, the show’s executive producers stated it was a one-time only appearance, but Ryan has been a guest star on multiple episodes of the current third season of Legends of Tomorrow, and is slated to return for the show’s season finale.
Ryan has also reprised the character of Constantine as a voice actor in the upcoming Constantine animated series, which will debut this Saturday, March 24, on CW Seed. First introduced by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette and John Totleben in The Saga of Swamp Thing, Constantine starred in 300 issues of DC’s Hellblazer series, frequently one of the publisher’s most acclaimed titles.
It’s notable that Warner Bros. stressed that Ryan will become a series regular “if” the show is renewed, as official word hasn’t yet come down for the show’s future, though fans can reasonably feel optimistic, given The CW’s dedication to its multiple DC-based shows, and the overall performance of the lineup. On tracking site TV By the Numbers, it’s currently listed as a “sure bet to be renewed by May 2018.”