'Evil Dead Wrath' maker in the mix as a new Constantine movie nears
Constantine’s big-screen comeback has a new director — and you’ll want to know who’s steering this one.
Francis Galluppi — the filmmaker steering the next Evil Dead Wrath — has been tapped to write DC Studios’ new John Constantine movie, according to people familiar with the project. It ’s in very early development, with no director or cast attached yet, and DC Studios declined to comment.
Galluppi comes in hot from horror. Per Deadline, he developed the original story for Evil Dead Wrath himself before pitching it to Sam Raimi in 2024, and he’s now writing and directing what will be the franchise ’s seventh film. His debut, The Last Stop in Yuma County, premiered at Fantastic Fest to strong buzz, with Raimi publicly praising Galluppi’s slow-burn tension that explodes into chaos — a skill set tailor-made for DC’s chain‑smoking occult detective.
Warner Bros. has set Evil Dead Wrath for April 7, 2028.
The move also lands as DC’s horror-leaning Clayface continues its theatrical run, crossing $90 million worldwide and signaling an appetite for the studio’s darker corners.
Looking back at 2005
The last time Constantine headlined on the big screen, Keanu Reeves and director Francis Lawrence bent the comics to their own noir. On the Happy Sad Confused podcast marking the film’s 20th anniversary, Lawrence explained he cared more about the character’s spirit than copying the look panel-for-panel — and he reshaped the world around him accordingly.
- Reeves’ Constantine skipped the character’s blonde hair.
- The English accent was dropped.
- His signature coat shifted from black to brown.
- The setting moved from Liverpool to Los Angeles, with Lawrence drawing on classic noirs like The Maltese Falcon and The Third Man, and the hardboiled vibe of Jim Thompson novels.
- They shot on location in L.A. rather than relying on Toronto stand-ins, a choice Lawrence praised Reeves for embracing.
What Galluppi’s version keeps from the comics — and what it breaks — is the next big question. For now, DC has a writer, no star or director, and a blank page waiting for its demon hunter to return to theaters.