After NBC scrapped its short-lived Constantine series in 2015, Matt Ryan got another chance to play the occult hero on Arrow before eventually becoming a series regular on Legends of Tomorrow. Sadly, Ryan’s run as Constantine is coming to an end in the upcoming season finale. That’s why Ryan spoke to TVLine about hanging up John’s trench coat for good.
Viewers didn’t learn about Ryan’s Legends departure until it was announced during the show’s Comic-Con@Home panel last month. But according to him, his exit had been in the works for a while.
“[I knew] before I started shooting this season,” said Ryan. “It was last season that we knew it was going to happen. So we had the conversation, and it was like, ‘Oh, OK.’ When the original Constantine show was cancelled, it felt like there was unfinished business. It felt like, ‘I wish that I could get to play out this character in a way that I didn’t get to do.’”
“Who would have thunk that seven years later, I’d still be playing the character, getting to explore?” added Ryan. “So I really had the most wonderful journey with him, and I felt like in the context of this show, it was the right time for him to go on his journey and walk his path.”
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“And as a fan, which I am — I’ve read almost all the Hellblazers, I think, apart from the last two of the new run, which are effing awesome, by the way — it just felt like it was the right time for him to leave the show,” continued Ryan. “And then they asked me to stay. It’s a different challenge for me as an actor, and that felt organic as well.”
Despite this, Ryan says we shouldn’t expect his character to live happily ever after.
“I feel like the sendoff that they’ve given the character is great, obviously, within the context of the show,” said Ryan. “I just didn’t want him to have a happy ending. Don’t give John Constantine a happy ending! No, he’s got to f*** it up!”
Although Constantine will no longer be part of the Legends’ crew, Ryan isn’t straying too far from the Waverider. When the new season debuts in October, he will be playing a new character named Gwyn Davies. Meanwhile, HBO Max is currently developing its own Constantine series with J.J. Abrams onboard as an executive producer.
The next episode of Legends of Tomorrow airs this Sunday, August 29 on The CW. The season finale is scheduled to air on September 5.
Are you going to miss Ryan showing up as John Constantine every week? Let us know in the comments down below!
Recommended Reading: John Constantine, Hellblazer, Vol. 1: Original Sins
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