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The Sandman (TV series)

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The Sandman
GenreDrama
Based on
The Sandman
by
Developed byAllan Heinberg
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
Production companies
Original release
NetworkNetflix

The Sandman is an upcoming American television series based on the 1989–1996 comic book written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics. The series was developed by Allan Heinberg for the streaming service Netflix—with Heinberg, Gaiman, and David S. Goyer serving as executive producers—and is being produced by DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television. Like the comic, The Sandman tells the story of Dream, the titular Sandman. It stars Tom Sturridge as Dream, with Gwendoline Christie, Vivienne Acheampong, Boyd Holbrook, Charles Dance, Asim Chaudhry, and Sanjeev Bhaskar in supporting roles.

Efforts to adapt The Sandman to film began in 1991 and floundered in development hell for many years. In 2013, Goyer pitched a film adaptation of the series to Warner Bros. Goyer and Gaiman were set to produce alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who was planned to star and possibly direct. However, Goyer exited due to creative differences in 2016. Due to the prolonged development of the film, Warner Bros. shifted its focus to television. Netflix signed a deal to produce the series in June 2019, and filming began in October 2020.

Premise

In 1916, Dream, the king of stories and one of the seven Endless, is captured in an occult ritual. After being held captive for 105 years, in 2021 he escapes and sets out to restore order to his kingdom of the Dreaming.[1]

Cast

Production

Development

As a film

Attempts to adapt The Sandman, an American comic book written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics from 1989 to 1996, had languished in development hell since the 1990s.[5] Inquisitr wrote that "Sandman's nature as a comic has been a very unique and life-changing experience for many and that made it very difficult and challenging to translate into the small and big screens."[6]

Gaiman was first asked about a film adaptation by DC's corporate sibling Warner Bros. in 1991, an offer to which he was apprehensive.[1] Development on a film adaptation began in 1996,[6] with Roger Avary attached to direct and Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio writing the script. Elliot and Rossio's script merged the first two Sandman storylines, "Preludes & Nocturnes" and "The Doll's House", into a single story. While Gaiman enjoyed the script, Avery and producer Jon Peters could not agree, so Avery was fired.[1] A 1998 Sandman script, written by William Farmer, was referred to by Gaiman as "not only the worst Sandman script I've ever seen, but quite easily the worst script I've ever read."[6] Farmer's script featured radical differences from the source material, such as casting Dream as a villain and making him Lucifer Morningstar's brother.[1]

After reading Farmer's script, Gaiman became doubtful that The Sandman would be adapted to film. In 2007, he remarked that he would "rather see no Sandman movie made than a bad Sandman movie", but added that he "[felt] 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."[6] He said that he could see Terry Gilliam directing the adaptation: "I would always give anything to Terry Gilliam, forever, so if Terry Gilliam ever wants to do Sandman then as far as I'm concerned Terry Gilliam should do Sandman."[7] In 2013, DC Entertainment president Diane Nelson said that a Sandman film was a project she considered a priority, considering the prospect as rich as the Harry Potter universe.[8]

David S. Goyer, who had helped with DC's Batman film franchise,[1] pitched a Sandman adaptation to Warner Bros. in 2013,[9] and by February 2014 was set to produce the film alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Gaiman, with Jack Thorne writing. Warner Bros. planned for Gordon-Levitt to star and possibly direct.[10] The film was set to be produced by New Line Cinema as part of a slate of films based on properties published under DC's Vertigo imprint, separate from the DC Extended Universe.[11][a] Eric Heisserer was hired to rewrite the film's script in March 2016;[12] immediately afterwards, Gordon-Levitt departed due to disagreements with Warner Bros. over the creative direction of the film.[13] The following November, Heisserer turned in his draft but departed, stating that the project should be an HBO series instead of a film: "I … came to the conclusion that the best version of this property exists as an HBO series or limited series, not as a feature film, not even as a trilogy. The structure of the feature film really doesn't mesh with this."[14]

Transition to television

Due to the prolonged development period of the film, in 2010 DC Entertainment shifted focus onto developing a television adaptation. Film director James Mangold pitched a series concept to HBO while consulting with Gaiman on an unofficial basis, but this proved unsuccessful. It was reported in September 2010 that Warner Bros. Television was licensing the rights to produce a TV series, and that Supernatural creator Eric Kripke was their preferred candidate to adapt the saga.[1][15] Gaiman later revealed that he disapproved of Kripke's take, and development on the television adaptation halted because Goyer's film was progressing smoothly.[1]

In June 2019, Netflix signed a deal with Warner Bros. to produce the series and gave it an order of eleven episodes. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. pitched the series to multiple networks—including HBO, which declined to move ahead with it due to its massive budget. Netflix "snapped it up" as part of its attempts to obtain big intellectual properties and attract subscribers.[5] The series was developed by Allan Heinberg, who will executive produce alongside Gaiman and Goyer.[16][17] Gaiman said he would be more involved than he was with the television adaptation of his American Gods (2001), but less than he was with the adaptation of Good Omens (1990).[1]

Writing

According to Gaiman, the plan is to faithfully adapt the series, beginning with the first season adapting "Preludes & Nocturnes".[1] However, the series features changes intended to update the story for modern times. For example, it begins in 2021 rather than 1989, with Dream now having being imprisoned for 105 years instead of 75 years. Gaiman stated that the team attempted to reinvent Dream as if "we were creating [him] now"; this included considering changing Dream's gender.[18]

Casting

In September 2020, Tom Sturridge entered negotiations to portray Dream, after screen testing alongside Tom York and Colin Morgan,[19] while Liam Hemsworth and Dacre Montgomery were under consideration for the role of the Corinthian.[20] Casting news was kept tightly under wraps and was not publicly released when the first season began filming.[21] According to Boyd Holbrook, the casting process was long, recalling that he auditioned around January 2020 but did not receive any further information until September.[22]

In January 2021, Sturridge, Gwendoline Christie, Vivienne Acheampong, Holbrook, Charles Dance, Asim Chaudhry, and Sanjeev Bhaskar were announced to be starring in the series.[23]

Filming

The series was originally to begin filming towards the end of May, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[18] In September 2020, Gaiman revealed on his Twitter that filming was expected to begin in October "lockdown permitting".[24] Filming commenced on October 15, 2020.[25] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, filming for the first season was limited to the United Kingdom.[26] Holbrook began shooting his scenes in December 2020. Production for the first season is expected to last until June 2021.[22]

Notes

  1. ^ The final 28 issues of The Sandman were published under the Vertigo imprint, which was aimed at a mature audience.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Amaya, Erik (April 6, 2020). "Everything We Know About Netflix's Sandman Series". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Otterson, Joe (January 28, 2021). "'Sandman' Netflix Series Casts Tom Sturridge as Dream, Adds Gwendoline Christie, Charles Dance". Variety. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Cole, Brynna (January 31, 2021). "Sandman: Every Actor & Character Confirmed for Netflix's Adaptation". CBR.com. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  4. ^ Jacobs, Mira (January 31, 2021). "Neil Gaiman Explains the Difference Between Sandman and Lucifer's... Lucifer". CBR.com. Retrieved February 1, 2021.}
  5. ^ a b Goldberg, Lesley (June 30, 2019). "'Sandman' TV Series From Neil Gaiman, David Goyer — With Huge Price Tag — a Go at Netflix". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d Figueroa, Jovi (March 6, 2016). "Neil Gaiman Affected To See Gordon-Levitt Leave The 'Sandman' Movie". Inquisitr. Archived from the original on October 6, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  7. ^ Giles, Jeff (October 5, 2007). "Neil Gaiman Talks Sandman, Good Omens Adaptations". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013.
  8. ^ Kit, Borys (July 17, 2013). "DC Entertainment Chief Reveals What's Next for Superman, Wonder Woman and 5 Superheroes Who Deserve Movies (Q&A)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 4, 2014.
  9. ^ Fleming, Jr., Mike (December 16, 2013). "Joseph Gordon-Levitt Eyeing Sandman as Director and Star, Producing with David Goyer at Warner Bros". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  10. ^ Fleming, Jr., Mike (February 26, 2014). "Jack Thorne To Script Sandman For Joseph Gordon-Levitt". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 11, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  11. ^ Fleming, Mike, Jr. (June 29, 2015). "Vertigo DC Movies Like Sandman Going To New Line; Warner Bros Keeps Batman, Superman, Justice League, Other DC Titles". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 3, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Kit, Borys (March 4, 2016). "Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Sandman Movie Finds Its Writer". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016.
  13. ^ McNary, Dave (March 5, 2016). "Joseph Gordon-Levitt Drops Out of The Sandman". Variety. Archived from the original on August 27, 2016.
  14. ^ Rome, Emily (November 3, 2016). "Another Screenwriter Leaves the Sandman Movie, Saying It Has to Be a TV Show". io9. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  15. ^ Hibberd, James (November 30, 2010). "Comic icon The Sandman TV series in works". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 10, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  16. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (July 1, 2019). "Netflix Orders 'The Sandman' Series Based On Neil Gaiman's DC Comic – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  17. ^ Cavanaugh, Patrick (July 1, 2019). "Netflix Officially Orders The Sandman Series From Neil Gaiman and David S. Goyer". Comicbook.com. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  18. ^ a b McCreesh, Louise; Earp, Catherine (July 19, 2020). "Neil Gaiman offers update on Netflix's The Sandman". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on July 21, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  19. ^ Sneider, Jeff (September 30, 2020). "Exclusive: 'The Sandman' Netflix Series Eyes Tom Sturridge to Star as Dream". Collider. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  20. ^ Bui, Hoai-Tran (September 30, 2020). "Netflix's 'The Sandman' Considering Liam Hemsworth, Dacre Montgomery for the Villainous Corinthian". /Film. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  21. ^ Minzner, KJ (October 19, 2020). "The Sandman Show Started Filming Without Announcing The Cast". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  22. ^ a b Chitwood, Adam (January 29, 2021). "Exclusive: Boyd Holbrook Talks Netflix's 'The Sandman', Reveals How Long They're Filming". Collider.
  23. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (January 28, 2021). "Neil Gaiman's 'The Sandman' Casts Tom Sturridge, Gwendoline Christie, Vivienne Acheampong, Boyd Holbrook, Charles Dance, Asim Chaudhry And Sanjeev Bhaskar". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  24. ^ Morris, Lauren (September 28, 2020). "The Sandman TV series starts filming in 3 weeks, Neil Gaiman reveals". Radio Times. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  25. ^ Lovett, Jamie (October 18, 2020). "Netflix's Sandman Series Begins Filming, Neil Gaiman Teasing Casting Announcements". Comicbook.com. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  26. ^ Gaiman, Neil [@neilhimself] (October 18, 2020). "One of those, yes. We had plans, but Covid changed them. Season 1 will all be shot in the UK" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021 – via Twitter.
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