Last week, Warner Brothers announced their plans for a massive 10-film slate of DC Comics movies, and their plans to squeeze new Superman and Batman solo films in before 2020. While that new slate includes films like The Flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, two Justice League movies, Cyborg, and even a Green Lantern reboot, one upcoming DC property was noticeably absent was the live-action adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman.
Produced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, David S. Goyer, and Gaiman himself, Sandman was put into production last November and is being penned by BAFTA-winning screenwriter and playwright Jack Thorne (Skins, This is England). We heard back in August that the film was still in active development, so why isn’t it on the newly-announced schedule?
Well, according to Gaiman himself, Sandman wasn’t grouped in with the rest of the DC properties because it’s not a DC property. While the seminal comic falls under DC’s roof, it was actually published under Vertigo, a DC Comics imprint. When asked by a fan via Tumblr about how Sandman fit into Warner Bros.’ plans and why it wasn’t announced last week, Gaiman simply said:
“It’s not a DC Comics film. It’s a Vertigo film. That’s a different slate of films, and a different announcement.”
So, fear not, Sandman fans! It appears that the film is still very much on the way, and will be announced independently of the other DC projects. While that doesn’t come as much of a surprise, it’s still nice to hear confirmation from Gaiman himself on the matter.