Zed's alive, baby...Zed's ali--Oh, wait. I already made that joke.
The official Twitter account for the upcoming NBC series Constantine has just announced that actress Angélica Celaya has landed the role of Zed with the following tweet...
.@AngelicaCelaya is coming to #Constantine as Zed. pic.twitter.com/Kii4BAV5Zd
— Constantine (@NBCConstantine) July 13, 2014
Although primarily known for her work on Mexican television, the 34-year-old Tucson native appeared as Angela Flores on the series Burn Notice and as Lucia Trevino on the recent remake of Dallas.The Hollywood Reporter provided some additional details from the show's panel during the Television Critics Association press tour on Sunday. "She’s someone who can go toe to toe with John [Constantine], and that's ultimately something we felt like we needed," said executive producer Daniel Cerone. "We wanted a more dynamic relationship, as opposed to someone who is a teacher/mentor and a student. It just didn't feel as fertile and rich of an area as just a strong a man and a strong woman who are both very different."
"Liv is a great character," continued Cerone. "She's very wide-eyed, she's very reactive, she doesn't have powers and when we started to look at the story, we thought this is a character who is always going to be reactive." This resulted in a discussion of looking at other Constantine characters they thought better fit within the confines of the universe. Cerone revealed that the writers originally thought about bringing Zed into the pilot, but when they "started writing ourselves into the corner" without Zed that they made the change. "We hope it energizes the fanbase."
As posted this past Friday, Celaya's character Zed replaces Lucy Griffiths' character Liv Parsons after the showrunners opted to go in this different creative decision. The recently leaked pilot episode received a somewhat lukewarm reception from fans online, which may or may not have contributed to the decision. Zed will appear in an early episode of Constantine, but it's not known if the pilot episode will be retooled before the series' premiere date.
Created by Jamie Delano and John Ridgway, Zed first appeared in 1988's Hellblazer #4 as a former lover of John Constantine and wayward daughter of an evangelical family, who is also an artist at the time she first encounters Constantine. She assists him in the rescue of his niece, Gemma, from an occultist pedophile that collects child brides. Later on, she's taken into custody by her father, a senior member of a group called the Resurrection Crusade, who attempts to offer her to an angel for the purpose of conceiving a baby who will become the new Messiah. Constantine defeats Zed's father's plan, however, by spoiling her with his own Nergal-tainted blood before the heavenly coupling can be consummated.
Additional Hellblazer and DC Comics supernatural characters are expected as the series progresses, with Doctor Fate being a strong possibility after the Helmet of Nabu was shown briefly in the pilot.
Constantine premieres on NBC on October 24th at 10 p.m. EST.