WB Games Montreal reportedly pitched a Constantine game to Warner Bros. Discovery in the wake of Gotham Knights‘ release, with this idea sparking initial excitement, before it was nixed. That’s according to a new report from Jason Schreier of Bloomberg analysing the current turmoil in WBD’s games division, and what each studio is currently working on.
Per Schreier, WB Games Montreal has been through a range of changes since the release of Gotham Knights. The game received middling reviews on launch (GamesHub was and remains a fan of the game), and failed to hit sales expectations. Bloomberg reports that studio leaders at WB Games Montreal requested a chance to make another “1.5” iteration of Gotham Knights after this result, to help the game reach its full potential, but this was rejected.
Instead, members of WB Games Montreal were reportedly assigned to help out on other projects, with the remaining team then trying to get new projects off the ground. The first pitch, per Bloomberg, was for a Constantine adaptation. Bloomberg specifically mentions the 2005 Keanu Reeves-starring film adaptation in its report, but it seems likely this game would’ve been a fresh spin on the Constantine mythos – as Gotham Knights was a fresh spin on Batman.
Initial response to the idea of a Constantine game is believed to have been positive, with the team of David Haddad (former Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment president) reportedly saying they were “excited” by the pitch.
But when it came time to discussing budget and timeline approvals, this team was “noncommittal,” according to Bloomberg‘s sources. After months of “waffling,” the answer eventually given to WB Games Montreal was that WBD would prefer a game starring a “more recognisable character” like Joker or The Flash.
Read: Monolith’s Wonder Woman game is reportedly in trouble
That’s not to mention that John Constantine is a rare DC Comics character who has starred in a major, well-received live-action feature film, as well as being a lynchpin of the CW’s long-running “Arrowverse.” In recent years, Constantine has received his own one-season TV show and multiple standalone animated films. He’s a major player in the Justice League Dark animated universe. He’s appeared in Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, and even took part in crossovers like CW’s Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Regardless, WB Games Montreal was reportedly required to pivot to more well-known characters, and abandoned the idea of a Constantine adaptation in favour of working on a game inspired by The Flash. Then, Warner Bros. released the Flash film adaptation, it bombed at the box office, and WB Games Montreal’s Flash game was scrapped, as well.
Per Bloomberg, this frustration led to multiple leaders of WB Games Montreal resigning, with a lack of control being a driving factor behind their decision. With the studio’s biggest ideas put on the backburner, many of those still at WB Games Montreal are reportedly now helping out Monolith on its Wonder Woman project.
Some staff may also be working on a Game of Thrones pitch, per Bloomberg – although it’s unclear how far along this project is, and whether it will see the light of day.
Those keen to learn more about these projects, and the wider developments at Warner Bros. Discovery, should check out Bloomberg‘s in-depth feature on the current circumstances at the company.
