Constantine, Madame X Still Shopping? JJ Abrams Still DC Power Player?

Nearly a month ago, Warner Bros. Discovery had some good news and bad news to share with fans wondering about the future of the DCEU. On the plus side, there was the news that a green light was given for a sequel to the 2005 Keanu Reeves-starring film, with both Reeves and original director Francis Lawrence reuniting for the project. On the not-so-good-news front came word that J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot would be seeing two of their DC projects getting a hard pass. The news that the “Constantine” series would get a pass came with some surprise, with scripts completed and reportedly the search for a lead having narrowed). In addition, the Angela Robinson-produced “Madame X” was also passed on by WBD, but the news came with a glimmer of hope since both projects are able to be shopped for new homes (with Warner Bros. Television and Bad Robot saying at the time that they “expect to find a new home for them both”). Now, we’re a little more clarity on where things stand as Warner Bros. Discovery continues attempting to set a course for the DC Universe.

In a The Hollywood Reporter report from earlier this evening discussing how the lack of a single leader overseeing DC films & series has created a bit of a power grab, Abrams’ past issues regarding his “Justice League Dark” banner were brought into the analysis. Two interesting takeaways from the piece? First, both “Constantine” and “Madame X” are still being shopped to other streamers for consideration (much like what’s happening with Batman: Caped Crusader). Second, despite those setbacks (as well as losing the limited series My Glory Was I Had Such Friends at Apple TV+ and HBO’s big-budget sci-fi drama Demimonde), Abrams and his production are apparently still very much players when it comes to carving up the DC landscape. “[Abrams] is not out of the game and is yet another Hollywood power in the mix vying for a piece of the DC pie,” THR’s Borys Kit wrote.