Even those who disregard comics as an art form (how many of those people are left these days, anyway?) acknowledge that Neil Gaiman‘s 1989-1996 series Sandman as one of the best series ever done in the medium. Sandman remains one of the most celebrated comic book series (or “graphic novel” if you insist on being fancy) of all time and really made Gaiman’s reputation for his sci-fi/fantasy work. Warner Bros., which owns DC Comics (Sandman was originally published by DC’s Vertigo imprint), has tried to adapt the series for a movie, but even Gaiman, who is well-connected in the film industry because of his work as a screenwriter, confessed that it would probably be difficult, if not impossible, unless the right filmmaker was found.
According to Deadline, the right director, co-writer, and star has finally been found — and curiously, they’re all the same person: Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Though the proper series ended in 1996, Gaiman has periodically returned to the character including this year’s The Sandman: Overture miniseries that is still ongoing. The initial 75 issue series was about Dream, the Lord of Dreams, who escapes a 70 year imprisonment to discover his dream kingdom to be in ruins. The series was tangentially connected to DC Comics continuity, but less so as the series progressed (since the end of the series, DC has only occasionally used the Sandman related characters, and almost always with Gaiman’s permission). In other words, don’t expect Sandman characters to crossover with Superman or Batman.
Though I’m not surprised that Gordon-Levitt will be starring in this because of his avowed love of comics, I am surprised that he will be directing. His directorial debut Don Jon was very well received (read Alex’s glowing review here), but that was obviously a very different film than Sandman would be. Of course, that is perhaps good news since the film wasn’t put into the hands of a more blockbuster-orientated director. Gordon-Levitt will also develop the script with Warner Bros. DC Comics go-to guy David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight trilogy, Man of Steel) and Gaiman himself, though another writer is expected to be brought in to write the screenplay based on their treatment. Gaiman has been highly critical of previous attempts to film his saga (he once called a script that Warner Bros. sent him “quite easily the worst script I’ve ever read.”) Obviously the fact that he is involved is good news.
Furthermore, this will likely be a multi-film project (frankly, Sandman seems more suited for a lengthy television miniseries than a film series), but it isn’t clear how Warner Bros. plans on handling it. There will be plenty more to come about this in the upcoming months.
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