James Mangold remembers his failed attempt to get The Sandman made for HBO

Last July, Netflix revealed it was taking the plunge developing a TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s “unfilmable” comic series The Sandman, about a group of immortal beings called the Endless, each in charge of different aspects of human nature. Our main character is Dream, who goes on a personal odyssey with help (or sometimes opposition) from his siblings Death, Destiny, Destruction, Desire, Despair and Delirium.

The comic is set in fantastical realms beyond imagining, dipping into both the distant past and far-flung future, as well as the depths of the human mind. It’s gonna be a tricky one to adapt. Netflix is the first to really give it an honest go, but other attempts have been made, on both the big and small screens. Speaking to Discussing Film, Logan director Jame Mangold remembered when he pitched a Sandman series to HBO, and why it didn’t happen:

"It’s no secret that I was trying to pull together a version of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, I pitched it to HBO years ago and they bought the pitch as a long form series and then it got undone by a political turf war at [Warner Bros]. Regardless, now it’s happening and I am so happy for Neil who I think is a marvelous person as well as a supremely brilliant artist. His unique vision weaves the psychological, psychedelic, romantic, sexual and fantastical in a way that is both personal and epic."

Over the years, Sandman has been stuck in its share of development hells. After the HBO adaptation fell through, Warner Bros. TV signed up Supernatural creator Eric Kripke to bring the fantasy series to television in 2010. That fell through, as well, with Kripke only telling The Hollywood Reporter at the time that it wasn’t happening “for a lot of varying reasons.”

The next attempt was bound for the big screen. In 2013, New Line Cinema was eying Joseph Gordon-Levitt to direct a movie and potentially star in the series. However, this soon broke down due to creative differences. Levitt confirmed his departure from the project with a statement:

"So, as you might know if you like to follow these sorts of things, a while back, David Goyer and I made a producing deal with Warner Brothers to develop a movie adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s SANDMAN. Neil himself came on as an executive producer, we hired the excellent screenwriter, Jack Thorne, and we started in on the ambitious task of adapting one of the most beloved and boundary-pushing titles in the world of comics. I was pleased with the progress we were making, even though we still had quite a ways to go.Recently, as you also might know if you like to follow these sorts of things, the sorta “ownership” (for lack of a better term) of the Sandman material changed hands when Warner Brothers shifted the entire catalogue of Vertigo comics (an imprint of DC) to their subsidiary, New Line. And a few months ago, I came to realize that the folks at New Line and I just don’t see eye to eye on what makes Sandman special, and what a film adaptation could/should be. So unfortunately, I decided to remove myself from the project. I wish nothing but the best for the team moving forward."

Now Netflix finally looks to have cracked it, and they’re going big. The series is poised to be the most expensive drama that DC Entertainment has ever done! They have signed on Allan Heinberg (Wonder Woman, Grey’s Anatomy) as showrunner, with creator Neil Gaiman and David S. Goyer (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight) as executive producers.

The show is moving forward, although things are currently on hold due to the coronavirus. We can always enjoy the star-studded audio drama version in the meantime. And Netflix, some of the people in the voice cast would be pretty good choices for the live-action show, just saying.

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