It may have only lasted one season, but the television version of Constantine certainly made an impression, as did actor Matt Ryan in the title role as the reluctant demon hunter and dabbler in the dark arts. In fact, so impressive was Ryan as John Constantine that he reprised the character in a fourth season episode of Arrow and will voice him in 2017’s animated Justice League Dark. All of which makes it even more exciting that Constantine: The Complete Series has been announced for Blu-ray on October 4th.
Developed for television by Daniel Cerone and David S. Goyer, the series, based on the DC comic Hellblazer, co-stars Angelica Celaya as Zed, Charles Halford as Chas and Harold Perrineau as Manny. The complete series includes (naturally) all thirteen episodes, a trailer, on set report and a 2014 Comic-Con Q&A panel with the cast and creators.
In describing the power of the series, Ryan explains, “I think it’s the juxtaposition, the balance between it being a very dark and serious story, but then John being able to maneuver within that, and the humor and the wit being set against that. It’s those two things, I think, that make the show unique. You’ve got this central character who’s cracking the joke in the middle of something which is really fucking serious.”
When introduced on the series, Constantine is very much a loner and wants to keep it that way, though as things unfold he finds himself part of a core group of characters, a family, if you will, despite his best intentions.
“The interesting thing,” details Ryan, “is that in the back of his head he knows that somewhere along the line all of this is going to go to pot. It’s all going to go to shit, and it’s an inevitability, but it doesn’t stop a human being from having connections with other humans beings… and Angels. As the Rising Darkness he has to face is progressing, the burden on him is getting bigger and, suddenly, he’s accumulating these people who he has feelings for, and obviously they are feelings that have been buried deep down inside, but he is a human being at the end of the day. He’s going to feel something. If something bad happens to those people — and it does — it’ s a very interesting thing for him to be going through.”
Beginning October 4th with the Blu-ray and DVD release of Constantine, the audience will be right alongside Matt Ryan and John Constantine as they go through it all over again.
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