Warner Bros. has been trying to get a film adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s comic book series Sandman off the ground for almost 20 years without success, but the renewed momentum behind DC film and television projects seems to have created just the right environment necessary to finally bring this complex, fantastical source material to the screen. With Joseph Gordon-Levitt and David S. Goyer collaborating with series author Neil Gaiman and screenwriter Jack Thorne, Sandman seems closer than ever to coming to fruition.
But it’s all been a bit quiet regarding the project, while DC have been busily announcing their planned superhero slate – and fans have been getting restless. So, when Gordon-Levitt popped up on Reddit recently, he took the time to provide an update.
“Been doing a lot of work with David Goyer and Jack Thorne, working on the screenplay. We’ve been doing our meetings at the DC office, which is a frickin’ rad place to work. Also just has a great conversation last week with David and Mr Gaiman. Neil has been extremely big hearted with me, and he’s the one I want to please the most.”
On the same day, Deadline ran an interview with producer David S. Goyer, and he provided an update of his own.
“I hesitate to definitively say when it might go before the cameras, but the one thing different between other iterations and ours is that Neil Gaiman has been in the room with us and is a vital part of the team. We have a draft Warners is very happy with and we’re moving forward, knock on wood.”
It seems that fans can rest assured that Sandman is still on his way. The film is being developed with the Vertigo label, and so bears no relation to the Warner Bros/DC film slate announcements made recently. It is, instead, the story of Dream and the Endless – seven personifications of emotional and spiritual concepts, such as Desire, Death and Destiny. The source material is a much-loved comic book series, and with this talented team slowly but surely bringing it to life, anticipation continues to grow. While little is officially confirmed beyond the involvement of these filmmakers, the world awaits the next big Sandman announcement.