"Constantine" is coming to TV on NBC.

The most recent update is that relative unknown Michael James Shaw has been given the role of Papa Midnite, the immortal voodoo priest and mob kingpin Constantine and Papa Midnite were occasionally able to work together to defeat a common enemy, but there is not word on if that dynamic will be repeated in the show.

At Comic-Con International in San Diego, CBR News spoke with actors Matt Ryan, Angélica Celaya and Charles Halford as well as executive producers David S. Goyer and Daniel Cerone. Quotes from Comic Book Resources

When asked wether the show would be accessable to someone who hadn't read the comics David Goyer said, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"You know, I've had a hand in some comic book adaptations before," Goyer continued, referring to a resume that includes the recent "Dark Knight" franchise, the forthcoming "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice," as well as older films including the "Blade" trilogy and "The Crow: City of Angels." "The trick with all of those, even using a relatively obscure character like Blade, is to stay true to the character's DNA so that the comic book fans appreciate it and don't turn on you, but at the same time open it up to people like my wife, or my mom, who don't give a crap about comic books."

Executive producer Daniel Cerone added, " Before Constantine was introduced in 'Swamp Thing,' nobody knew who John Constantine was. The entry point for the TV show, he's the same guy, at the same point, immediately after Newcastle, that comic book fans met," he explained. "It's that Constantine that our viewers are going to meet and we're going to build his story out. There's a lot of talk when we were pitching the show, is he going to have demon blood in him? Is he going to trick the devil? There's so many great things that happen in his evolution, but we're starting from a character that everybody can get to know."

With a the current renaissance of supernatural horror and drama series on network and cable TV, Goyer spoke about what sets Constantine apart. "I've said John Constantine is one of the great characters of modern literature. He's unique, he's very funny, he's a bastard," Goyer said. "You know we joke that if he can solve a problem with a spell, he'll do it; if he can't solve it with a spell, he'll try a con; if he can't do it with a con he'll kick someone in the balls. He's just a unique character that people are going to fall in love with."

There have been some issues in that they can't show Constatine smoking onscreen, which some have taken to mean the character is not a smoker at all "We never said he wasn't smoking; we never said that. Far from it," Goyer clarified. "We have said, emphatically, that he's a smoker on the show."

Cerone said the creators are "limited by the FCC" as to what they're able to show, but "he carries cigarettes on the show, he lights up, he stubs out. And we play with it, too. We have one scene where he goes to light a cigarette and it starts raining."

"I would say this: we were obviously not surprised," Goyer said of fan reactions to the news. "We knew this was an integral part of his character, his vices. I think that, when fans get introduced to Matt and start seeing the show, it's a very faithful interpretation."

Welsh actor Matt Ryan, who plays John Constantine, said "I feel like the fact that he's a tormented soul that's harboring so much guilt, and counteracts that with this cynical look on the world and humor; that juxtaposition of someone with so much shit going on inside them that they seem irreverent to it, and it's buried so deep inside them that they come across as if they don't give a shit," he said. "But actually he's a humanist at heart."

Ryan wen on to say "We decided we couldn't do a full-on Liverpudlian accent because it would be a bit strong for television," he said. "So we made it a bit more general northern. It's not my accent, as such. It's very similar, it's quite close, but there are certain vowel sounds that are different. We wanted him to be from Liverpool but traveled."

Constantie premiers October 24 on NBC. Until then, enjoy this trailer.