After constant see-saw in production talks, Netflix has finally confirmed the production of a series based on Neil Gaiman’s popular comic book The Sandman. The streaming giant has struck a huge deal with Warner Bros Television to produce what will be a live-action series.
Published by DC Comics, The Sandman focuses on Dream, a God-like personification of dreams, who after being held prisoner by an occult ritual for 70 years, escapes into the modern day and sets about rebuilding his kingdom.
Netflix has ordered 11 episodes for the series and they will be written by Allan Heinberg of Wonder Woman, who is also the showrunner of the series. Gaiman will serve as the executive producer of The Sandman alongside David S. Goyer.
The Sandman has been in the helm of production for a long time – Sandman was originally slated to be a film with Joseph Gordon-Levitt directing and starring.
He exited the feature three years ago citing “creative differences” with New Line Productions. The project even goes back further when Gaiman said that an adaptation was in the works while at Comic-Con.
This will not be Gaiman’s first adaptation on screen. The author is fresh off his success on Amazon’s Good Omens as well as American Gods on Starz. Gaiman said on Twitter that “we won’t even try” when a fan asked if they were going to attempt to squeeze the entire comic series into one season.
The Sandman follows a tale of horror, dark fantasy and the mythological tale of Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams and the Endless – the powerful group of siblings that includes Destiny, Death, Destruction, Despair, Desire and Delirium (as well as Dream).