Neil Gaiman’s ‘Sandman’ May Be Coming To Netflix As A Series
After years (or more like decades) in development hell of various forms, it looks as though Neil Gaiman’s critically acclaimed ‘Sandman’ is finally going to get a screen adaptation, as Netflix nears a deal with Warner Bros for a tv series.
For those of you that don’t know the comic books, ‘The Sandman’ was a series written by Gaiman for DC Comic/Vertigo, first published in 1989. The main character in the books is Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams, one of the seven Endless, which includes Destiny, Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium (formerly Delight) and Destruction (also known as ‘The Prodigal’). In the first novel, an occultist attempting to capture Death to bargain for eternal life traps Death’s younger brother Dream instead. After his 70-year imprisonment and eventual escape, Morpheus goes on a quest for his lost objects of power.
What is interesting from a tv standpoint, during his arduous journey Morpheus encounters, not only Lucifer but also John Constantine. Whether that will happen in this tv adaptation remains to be seen, but Netflix do hold the tv rights to ‘Lucifer’, also based on Neil Gaiman’s version (albeit very loosely in that case!) We do also have a tv Constantine in the form of Matt Ryan on ‘Legends Of Tomorrow’, and it wouldn’t be the first time Ryan’s version has jumped shows and networks.
Sandman’s journey to the screen has been long and torturous. Ideas for tv and film versions have been kicking around Hollywood for years, the last one being a movie in 2013 with David S. Goyer and Joseph Gordon-Levitt attached. That fell apart around 2016 over the old “creative differences” which saw Gordon-Levitt leave the project, and it stalled.
This new series would see Gaiman exec producing alongside Goyer, with Allan Heinberg set as showrunner. Heinberg is no stranger to comic book properties having written the script for Patty Jenkins’ acclaimed ‘Wonder Woman’ movie and created and wrote ‘Young Avengers’ for Marvel. He also developed, wrote and was showrunner on ‘The Catch’, and has written & produced on a host of tv series including ‘Scandal’, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘The O.C.’ and ‘Party of Five’. Goyer has a long history with DC, having worked on Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy, ‘Man of Steel’, ‘Constantine’ and ‘Krypton’.
News of the ‘Sandman’ series coming to Netflix has been reported in various places around the web, with some saying the deal is done and others saying it is near to completion. No official word from the streaming service itself yet, but we’ll update you when we hear something official.
