Now that NBC has officially given its adaptation of DC Comics’ Constantine the axe, the social media #SaveConstantine campaign has gone into full swing, with Arrow star Stephen Amell throwing in his support and even offering to guest star on the series should another network pick it up.
While that wouldn’t necessarily help Constantine all that much (Arrow receives less viewers on the CW than the titular Hellblazer did at NBC), it does bring up some interesting questions in regards to potential crossovers for the several DC Comics adaptations spread across multiple networks.
To recap, the CW has Arrow, iZombie, The Flash and the upcoming Legends of Tomorrow and animated Vixen spinoffs, CBS has Supergirl, Fox has Gotham and Lucifer, and TNT has the upcoming Blackbirds series based on the Teen Titans. Can interconnectivity exist with the shows spread across multiple networks? Amell seems to think so, though producer Marc Guggenheim seems less optimistic.
Lately, the Arrow star has been very vocal on Twitter about his support for Constantine. As we mentioned above, he opted to sweeten the deal for any network looking to pick up the series by offering to guest star, which was supported by Constantine himself, Matt Ryan:
@amellywood man, it would be a real pleasure to explore these Guys dynamic #Constantine #SaveConstantine
— Matt Ryan (@mattryanreal) May 9, 2015
Amell then spoke with ComicBook.com and revealed that at one point in time, he had discussions with DC Comics about showing up as Green Arrow and giving Constantine a helping hand:
“There is an opportunity for interconnectivity with any DC television show that exists. Like, as an example, yesterday Constantine was cancelled. And there is… yeah, I know, it’s brutal… it’s a good show, and it should come back. And it may come back, like there are various platforms where it could come back.
Now, Constantine was an NBC show. I’m on The CW. I had had discussions with DC… so not NBC, not CW… but with DC Entertainment about guest starring on Constantine when it was still on the air. And that was and is still on the table.
The reason that I was going to guest star on Constantine, at least the idea that we were throwing around was he’s an expert when it comes to the Lazarus Pit, which is now something that is a part of and will continue to be a part of Arrow.”
While it would make sense for these characters to interact as they do on the comic book page, and as exciting it is to hear actors openly discuss their excitement for crossovers, it gets a bit trickier on the business end.