At long last, Hollywood is ready to pound some Sandman. Netflix on July 1 confirmed that it had reached a deal with Warner Bros. TV to adapt what is arguably considered to be Neil Gaiman’s most beloved comic book opus.
UPDATE (July 1): Netflix has confirmed that a first season of “10 episodes (plus one)” of The Sandman has been ordered. The official logline is as follows: “A rich blend of modern myth and dark fantasy in which contemporary fiction, historical drama and legend are seamlessly interwoven, The Sandman follows the people and places affected by Morpheus, the Dream King, as he mends the cosmic — and human — mistakes he’s made during his vast existence.”
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“We’re thrilled to partner with the brilliant team that is Neil Gaiman, David S. Goyer and Allan Heinberg to finally bring Neil’s iconic comic book series, The Sandman, to life onscreen,” said Channing Dungey, VP, Original Series, Netflix. “From its rich characters and storylines to its intricately built-out worlds, we’re excited to create an epic original series that dives deep into this multi-layered universe beloved by fans around the world.”
The DC Comics property has been mired in development hell for decades (yes, decades plural). The studio’s (failed) attempts to get a film adaptation off the ground dates back to the 1990s. “I’d rather see no Sandman movie made than a bad Sandman movie,” Gaiman told fans at Comic-Con in 2007, before adding, “But I feel like the time for a Sandman movie is coming soon. We need someone who has the same obsession with the source material as Peter Jackson had with Lord of the Rings or Sam Raimi had with Spider-Man.”
The focus in recent years has shifted to a potential TV adaptation, largely due to Gaiman’s exploding presence on the small screen, which includes American Gods (on Starz), Good Omens (on Amazon) and Sandman-spinoff Lucifer (entering its final season on, coincidentally enough, Netflix).
Allan Heinberg (The Catch, Grey’s Anatomy) will write and serve as showrunner on the series. Gaiman and David Goyer (Constantine, Flashforward) will executive-produce.
