Despite the cancellation of Constantine only after its first season, English actor Matt Ryan’s innate charisma to portray the titular anti-hero struck a chord with fans across the globe. As a result, the character soon became a part of CW’s Arrowverse, and later joining Legends of Tomorrow as a series regular. The actor’s uncanny similarity to the character from the comics has made him a fan favorite, especially among long-time fans of Hellblazer. But unfortunately, the occult magician’s time might have come to an end as Matt Ryan will not be portraying John Constantine in the seventh season of Legends of Tomorrow.
Related: 6 Netflix Original Shows To Watch If You Liked Constantine
The English actor first made his appearance as John Constantine in Arrow after the cancellation of NBC’s Constantine, before making regular appearances in Legends of Tomorrow since its third season. But recent reports have now revealed that Matt Ryan will no longer portray the chain-smoking occult magician in the show. While fans of Constantine will have to deal with another heartbreak, the actor’s fans can take a breather as Matt Ryan is still attached to the series, albeit as a different character. At the show’s Comic-Con@Home panel Sunday, executive producer/co-showrunner Phil Klemmer revealed that Ryan will be back as a series regular in Season 7 as a new character, Dr. Gwyn Davies, an eccentric scientist from the early 20th century who might be the team’s only hope next season.
Related: Keanu Reeves’ Constantine Co-Star Confirms Sequel Is In Works
In the upcoming seventh season, series regular voiceover cast member Amy Louise Pemberton, who has voiced Gideon, will now appear in flesh-and-blood as a real-world version of the character in the show.
Why did Legends of Tomorrow retire Matt Ryan’s Constantine?
After NBC’s cancellation, Warner Bros. Television picked up the character to make him a part of the larger Arrowverse. However, with the DCEU’s inception and the subsequent future DC projects attached with HBO Max, the character will be rebooted. As per reports, the character is being phased out from CW’s Arrowverse as J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Television are developing a brand new Constantine series with a much darker tone, and possibly with a person of color playing the titular anti-hero.
Related: Hellblazer: John Constantine HBO Max Series In The Works
Matt Ryan, who rose to prominence for his portrayal of John Constantine has also portrayed the character in the animated movies Justice League Dark and Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. He also voiced the character in the CW Seed spin-off series Constantine: City of Demons. After his brief yet sizzling encounter with Lucifer (Tom Ellis) in the Crisis event, the character was expected to share more screen-time with the Devil himself.
“As everyone who loves him knows, in the end, John Constantine will walk his path alone. The time has come for John to part ways with the Legends, and for me to part ways with John,” said Ryan. “I’m really excited to be creating this new role on the show and having some fun with it — discovering how this new character fits in and causes some trouble for the Legends.”
Though the seventh season of Legends of Tomorrow looks promising with lots of action and fun, the absence of the English occult magician will surely be missed by the fans. But then, Matt Ryan’s version of the character can always come back through the multiverse.
