Hollywood has tried—and failed—to turn Neil Gaiman’s best-selling DC comic series The Sandman into a movie for a long time now. So long that the story of the many (many) unsuccessful attempts to bring it to the big screen earned a chapter in author David Hughes’ book Tales From Developmental Hell. Like lots of other popular books with unique stories, that of the life of Morpheus—the living embodiment of dreams themselves—seemed impossible for any studio to successfully adapt into a two-hour film without sacrificing what made it so good in the first place. But its nuance and complexity might be perfect for a television show, and that’s the route Netflix is taking as it finally brings Neil Gaiman’s beloved story to life.
The streaming site announced (in news we first heard at Variety) that it has ordered an 11-episode first season (though they are calling it “10+one”), which will see Wonder Woman writer Allan Heinberg serve as showrunner, executive producer, and writer on the series. Both Gaiman and David S. Goyer (writer of Batman Begins and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) will also write for the show and serve as producers; the three will co-write the first episode of the series.
On Twitter, Gaiman has already given some more background and answered fans’ questions about the series and the writing process, including how it will be set 30 years later than the comic series.
I’m hoping we can make something on television that feels as personal and true as the best of the Sandman comics did. Just set thirty years later than Sandman the comic. https://t.co/Wy8y4aDbdE
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) July 1, 2019
No, I will indeed be cowriting the pilot.
In Variety it stated that David Goyer and I had written a Sandman movie script together in the past. This is an imaginary thing. https://t.co/ymFeazQV43
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) July 2, 2019
The first season will be eleven episodes. That’s the start of it all. Preludes and Nocturnes and a little bit more. https://t.co/tOlfJ1kS1y
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) July 2, 2019
No, we’re making Sandman. Not reinventing it. https://t.co/M4lJoCG42P
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) July 2, 2019
Just clarifying. No Sandman TV scripts have been written yet, by anyone for any reason. The @jackthorne script was a movie script from 4 years ago. https://t.co/mDKjdOlSvp
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) July 2, 2019
You’re not dreaming, Sandman diehards; this is really happening. The hope for an adaptation is finally out of developmental hell, and it looks like the plan is to tell the entire story from the very beginning. (Something that was never going to happen with a movie.)
Featured Image: DC Comics
