Constantine was played on the small screen by Matt Ryan in a 2014-15 NBC show of the same name, with his version of the character also appearing on CW’s Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow. Before that, Keanu Reeves starred as the occult master in 2005’s Constantine, directed by Francis Lawrence.
In the comics, the character in recent years has become a key fixture of Justice League Dark, a team that handles supernatural crises.
The Constantine series joins a growing roster of HBO Max projects coming from the world of DC Comics, including Abrams’ Justice League Dark, James Gunn’s The Peacemaker a spinoff of Matt Reeves’ The Batman film and a Greg Berlanti-produced Green Lantern series.
Abrams also has the 1970s-set Duster as well as The Shining offshoot Overlook in the works at HBO Max as part of his overall deal with WarnerMedia.