Why Constantine Works Perfectly On Arrow, According To Stephen Amell

In the CW’s superhero universe, comic character crossovers are the name of the game, as Arrow and The Flash are working overtime to launch the upcoming spinoff Legends of Tomorrow. As it happens, however, one of the most exciting upcoming Arrow character crossovers has nothing to do with either The Flash or Legends. Constantine's Matt Ryan is reprising the role of the exorcist extraordinaire after his show Constantine was cancelled on NBC, but Amell promises that John Constantine will work perfectly in the jump to the CW for Arrow.

We weave Matt in very nicely and the Constantine character very nicely. Keeping within the framework of our show, we lend ourselves to the things that make Constantine fun as a character.

In seasons past, viewers might have had to call shenanigans on the idea of John Constantine fitting in on Arrow. The chain-smoking expert in the supernatural with a dark sense of humor wouldn’t exactly have been a character to fit in with the realistic and serious tone of Arrow, although darkness would not have been out of place. The fourth season of Arrow has been a different story, lending credence to what Amell told Zap2it. Supervillain Damien Darhk has officially brought magic and mysticism into the fold, and his revelation that poor Sara Lance was brought back from the dead without her soul means that Ryan's episode, “Haunted,” will positively need a character like Constantine to step in.

Besides, despite all of the in-fighting and secrets and hints of a forthcoming doom for a familiar face, Arrow has actually been much funnier this year. The tone of Season 4 will allow Constantine to make his appearance without compromising either his character or the show.

It’s no surprise that Stephen Amell is so enthusiastic about an appearance from Matt Ryan. The Arrow star had joined in with the fans campaigning for a renewal of Constantine on NBC, then announced his willingness to guest star if another platform were to pick up the series. Sadly, the efforts of Amell and the fans alike were unsuccessful in finding a new home for Constantine.

Still, if it goes over well, Matt Ryan’s visit to Arrow could well earn him a gig popping in to the CW’s superhero universe. It’s unlikely that “Haunted” would dare to kill off a character such as John Constantine; if his contribution to reuniting Sara’s soul with her body – and hopefully sparing a moment to yell at the folks who were messing with life and death – there’s no reason why he shouldn’t come back, and Arrow opens the door to both Flash and Legends. Magic isn’t going anywhere now that it’s been introduced, and we can at least be fairly certain that Stephen Amell would be on board with Matt Ryan returning in the future.

Laura Hurley
Senior Content Producer

Laura turned a lifelong love of television into a valid reason to write and think about TV on a daily basis. She's not a doctor, lawyer, or detective, but watches a lot of them in primetime. CinemaBlend's resident expert and interviewer for One Chicago, the galaxy far, far away, and a variety of other primetime television. Will not time travel and can cite multiple TV shows to explain why. She does, however, want to believe that she can sneak references to The X-Files into daily conversation (and author bios).