Constantine TV Show On NBC, Trailer, Cast, And Release Date: Emmett Scanlan Cast As 'The Spectre," Michael James Shaw Of The Wire Will Play Papa Midnight [VIDEO]
"Constantine" is coming to NBC on October 24.
The most recent news about the show Irish actor Emmett Scanlan has been added to the recurring cast. Scanlan will play homicide detective Jim Corrigan, who eventually become the being known as "The Spectre."
Apart from the addition of 'The Wire' star Michael James Shaw as DC villain Papa Midnite, along with telenovela star Angelica Celaya as comic character Zed. NBC describes 'Constantine' TV series:
"Based on the wildly popular comic book series "Hellblazer" from DC Comics, seasoned demon hunter and master of the occult John Constantine (Matt Ryan, "Criminal Minds") specializes in giving hell... hell. Armed with a ferocious knowledge of the dark arts and his wickedly naughty wit, he fights the good fight - or at least he did. With his soul already damned to hell, he's decided to leave his do-gooder life behind, but when demons target Liv (Lucy Griffiths, "True Blood"), the daughter of one of Constantine's oldest friends, he's reluctantly thrust back into the fray - and he'll do whatever it takes to save her."
The cast also includes Harold Perrineau and Charles Halford. Writer Daniel Cerone ("The Mentalist," "Dexter") serves as executive producer with David S. Goyer ("Man of Steel," "The Dark Knight Rises"). "Constantine" is produced from Bonanza Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. The show is based upon characters published by DC Entertainment.
Michael James Shaw has been cast for the role of Papa Midnite, the immortal voodoo priest and mob kingpin Constantine and Papa Midnite were occasionally able to work together to defeat a common enemy, but there is not word on if that dynamic will be repeated in the show.
At Comic-Con International in San Diego, CBR News spoke with actors Matt Ryan, Angélica Celaya and Charles Halford as well as executive producers David S. Goyer and Daniel Cerone. Quotes from Comic Book Resources
When asked wether the show would be accessable to someone who hadn't read the comics David Goyer said, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"
"You know, I've had a hand in some comic book adaptations before," Goyer continued, referring to a resume that includes the recent "Dark Knight" franchise, the forthcoming "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice," as well as older films including the "Blade" trilogy and "The Crow: City of Angels." "The trick with all of those, even using a relatively obscure character like Blade, is to stay true to the character's DNA so that the comic book fans appreciate it and don't turn on you, but at the same time open it up to people like my wife, or my mom, who don't give a crap about comic books."
Executive producer Daniel Cerone added, " Before Constantine was introduced in 'Swamp Thing,' nobody knew who John Constantine was. The entry point for the TV show, he's the same guy, at the same point, immediately after Newcastle, that comic book fans met," he explained. "It's that Constantine that our viewers are going to meet and we're going to build his story out. There's a lot of talk when we were pitching the show, is he going to have demon blood in him? Is he going to trick the devil? There's so many great things that happen in his evolution, but we're starting from a character that everybody can get to know."
With a the current renaissance of supernatural horror and drama series on network and cable TV, Goyer spoke about what sets Constantine apart. "I've said John Constantine is one of the great characters of modern literature. He's unique, he's very funny, he's a bastard," Goyer said. "You know we joke that if he can solve a problem with a spell, he'll do it; if he can't solve it with a spell, he'll try a con; if he can't do it with a con he'll kick someone in the balls. He's just a unique character that people are going to fall in love with."
There have been some issues in that they can't show Constatine smoking onscreen, which some have taken to mean the character is not a smoker at all "We never said he wasn't smoking; we never said that. Far from it," Goyer clarified. "We have said, emphatically, that he's a smoker on the show."
Cerone said the creators are "limited by the FCC" as to what they're able to show, but "he carries cigarettes on the show, he lights up, he stubs out. And we play with it, too. We have one scene where he goes to light a cigarette and it starts raining."
"I would say this: we were obviously not surprised," Goyer said of fan reactions to the news. "We knew this was an integral part of his character, his vices. I think that, when fans get introduced to Matt and start seeing the show, it's a very faithful interpretation."
Welsh actor Matt Ryan, who plays John Constantine, said "I feel like the fact that he's a tormented soul that's harboring so much guilt, and counteracts that with this cynical look on the world and humor; that juxtaposition of someone with so much shit going on inside them that they seem irreverent to it, and it's buried so deep inside them that they come across as if they don't give a shit," he said. "But actually he's a humanist at heart."
Ryan wen on to say "We decided we couldn't do a full-on Liverpudlian accent because it would be a bit strong for television," he said. "So we made it a bit more general northern. It's not my accent, as such. It's very similar, it's quite close, but there are certain vowel sounds that are different. We wanted him to be from Liverpool but traveled."
Constantie premiers October 24 on NBC. Until then, enjoy this trailer.