Trailer Time: Constantine (TV Series)

Of the entire slate of new TV programming set to hit our televisions this fall, NBC’s Constantine series might arguably have the most anticipation.

Well, anticipation and, perhaps more importantly, trepidation, by the DC Comic characters’ legion of loyal fans.

Ripped from the monthly pages of Swamp Thing, John Constantine: Hellblazer and, more recently, Constantine, follow me after the jump for the first look at the brand new, just dropped trailer, for the Friday night NBC horror series aptly titled: Constantine!

Wow.

Well, that looked intriguing. I think they may have gotten this right, actually.

Ravenscar, angels, demons, fire, glyphs. And “bollocks”! Horror on TV! It seemed a much more genuine version from what we saw in the2005 Constantine film starring Keanu Reeves and directed by Francis Lawrence (you can find a positive review of ours here). This television version, like his comic book counterpart, has Constantine with blond hair and an English accent. Which, incidentally, is a big deal to most fans. Stay true to the source material, right? Except that there have been many iterations of that source material over the years.

For me, more than just magicking and demonology, John Constantine tells stories about politics and class structure, which is why the early Jamie Delano-written comics are my favourite. Of course, I’m a fan of the Garth Ennis beat-the-devil tales, too. I don’t think many would argue that those set of stories are probably the most popular. But that’s the main draw of John Constantine: his depth and the ability for a writer, artist – or actor – to portray him in new ways to tell new stories and shed some light on real life. You can read about some classic storylines here.

So? What do you think and this trailer? Although the majority of the series will take place in America, is this version of Constantine English enough for you? Is it John Constantine: Hellblazer enough for you?

“What’s on the way?”

Constantine appears this coming fall on NBC. It stars Matt Ryan (Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior) in the title role alongside Lucy Griffiths (True Blood) as Liv, Harold Perrineau (Lost) as Manny and Charles Halford (True Detective) as Chas. Daniel Cerone and David S. Goyer as writers and executive producers of the series.