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Published On: Wed, Nov 5th, 2014

‘Constantine’ creators details how TV show differs from comic book

From executive producer David S. Goyer and showrunner Daniel Cerone, Constantine is based on the popular comic book series Hellblazer from DC Comics. John Constantine (Matt Ryan) is a veteran demon hunter and master of the occult, armed with a ferocious knowledge of the dark arts.

Constantine-The-Darkness-Beneath-matt-ryan photoConstantine’s soul is already damned to hell, but he tries to find a loophole out of that and Constantine begrudgingly fights to save the soul of others.

During a recent luncheon with a handful of press, Goyer and Cerone talked about how much they’re drawing from the comics, just how far this show will go, as detailed by Collider.

 

“We draw heavily, for both inspiration and actual stories, from the comics.  The fourth episode that airs is ripped from the Hellblazer comics,” Daniel Cerone says of the comic book’s influence. “It’s the first official case, and we literally transpose that story onto the screen.  It delivers on the promise of everything that the show can be.”

Goyer confirms the adaptation and praises the story. “That episode, in particular, is a damn good hour of television, but it’s also a really good Hellblazer episode.  Hellblazer fans are going to be surprised, once we get a few episodes under our belt, at how true to the comics and the character it is.”

Constantine-The-Darkness-Beneath-angelica-celayaCerone says the network is very supportive of the show. “We turn in material and actually have the network saying, “Push it more.”  They want to see more.  There really are no limits.”

“And we’re not just talking about gore,” Goyer added. “One of the things I’m really proud of is that it’s a morally complex show.  It’s cable complex, in that way, in terms of the characters, what they do and their motivations.  It’s not just white hats and black hats.”

This leads into their remarks on having a “bad guy” for a main character.

“He has to be brutal, but you have to be able to root for him.  We want to challenge viewers morally and we want to scare them, but we also want their hearts.  We want people to pull for this character,” Cerone says.

Constantine - Season PilotFrom Goyer: “This is a guy who sells out his friends, and who leaves a trail of death behind him.  If you grow close to him, it’s a sure sign that your days are limited.  By Episode 8, you’ve seen at least two or three hardcore instances of him doing exactly that…Heart-breaking and brutal instances, which is also unusual for a lead in a network show.  Not in a cable show, but in a network show.”

“Constantine makes a lot of hard choices in this show and he throws a lot of people under the bus, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel it.  You see that pain in his eyes when he has to make those decisions.  From his point of view, he’s fighting this war.  He and planet earth are these extreme underdogs, so in order to fight the war, he’s going to have to do a lot of dirty tricks.  Another reason why you get away with it is that, every decision he makes, you see the weight of those decisions in his eyes and his conscious,” Goyer also said.

Check out the full interview, very lengthy and detailed HERE

Constantine airs on Friday nights on NBC at 10pm ET.

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About the Author

- Stephen is a contributor and writer on The Dispatch. Stephen is the founder and editor for the Steven Spielberg Fan Club website and contributes to pop culture stories on The Dispatch, especially upcoming movie news. Beginning in 2016, Stephen took the role of Managing Editor for the Tampa Dispatch.

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