Joseph Gordon-Levitt Reveals Why You Won’t See Punching In ‘Sandman’
"None of those same old ordinary cliches."

With reporting by Josh Horowitz

“The Sandman” is still on his way, kids, but don’t be frightened. Because this is definitely not a nightmare scenario. Quite the opposite.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the actor-turned-producer (and possibly director) who’s helping to craft the adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s epic comic series, has given us some sweet dreams indeed about what he’s putting together right now.

JGL hit up Spike TV’s Guys Choice Awards in Culver City, California last night (June 6) — in part to dole out the Brass Balls award to Sir Ben Kingsley — and updated us on the status of the project, based on the DC and Vertigo Comics publications.


“It’s really good, man. It’s slow but steady,” he told MTV News’ Josh Horowitz. “It’s a really complicated adaptation because those comics, they’re brilliant. But they’re not written as a whole. It’s not like ‘Watchmen,’ which is a graphic novel that has a beginning, middle, and end. ‘Sandman’ was written over the course of whatever — I forget exactly, six or seven years. One at a time. One little 20-page issue at a time. And to try to take that and make it into something that’s a feature film — a movie that has a beginning, middle, and end — is complicated.”

Complicated though it might be, JoGo has a distinct vision for the story — which he’s working on in collaboration with David Goyer and Warner Bros., with the help and authorial authority of Neil Gaiman himself — and it’s a whole lot different than some of the other big comic adaptations that have been blasting through the box office over the last few years.

“Big spectacular action movies are generally about crime fighters fighting crime and blowing sh-t up. This has nothing to do with that,” he explained. “And it was actually one of the things that Neil Gaiman said to me, he said ‘Don’t have any punching.’ Because he never does. If you read the comics, Morpheus doesn’t punch anybody. That’s not what he does.

“It’s going to be like a grand spectacular action film, but that relies on none of those same old ordinary cliches,” Gordon-Levitt added. “So, that’s why it’s taking a lot time to write, but it’s going to be really good.”

Now we can officially rest easy knowing this is in good hands (that won’t be punching any faces unnecessarily).

June 29, 2015 11:44am PT by Borys Kit
Warner Bros. Moves 'Sandman' to New Line as Part of DC Comics Shuffle

The move is part of a larger reshuffling of the deck between DC Comics and its edgy imprint Vertigo.

Sandman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s adaptation of the acclaimed 1990s Neil Gaiman comic book series, is leaving Warner Bros.

It's not traveling far, however, only being segued off to Warners’ sister arm New Line.

The move is part of a larger reshuffling of the deck between DC Comics and its edgy imprint Vertigo. DC projects, those involving the four-color heroes such as Batman and Wonder Woman and Flash, and are — or could be — part of an interconnected cinematic release, will remain in the Warner fold.

Vertigo titles, which are more creator driven and tend to push the envelope in terms of boundaries and content, will now look to be adapted by New Line.

There are some exceptions. Shazam, which has been in development at New Line with Dwayne Johnson attached to star, remains at New Line.

Justice League Dark, which is also known as Dark Universe, will remain under the Warners banner. Dark consists of DC’s supernatural heroes such as Constantine, Swamp Thing, Zatanna, and Deadman among others. In the past, Constantine and Swamp Thing and some of those ilk had their own titles published under the Vertigo imprint but have since been integrated into the DC Universe. The movie version will attempt the same.

Dark, the adaptation, was to have been directed by Guillermo del Toro, but insiders say the filmmaker, who is working on a sequel to Pacific Rim even as he preps his gothic horror movie Crimson Peak, is no longer attached to the project.

MARCH 04, 2016 4:12pm PT by Borys Kit
Joseph Gordon-Levitt's 'Sandman' Movie Finds Its Writer

Horror writer Eric Heisserer has been tapped to pen Sandman, New Line’s adaptation of the acclaimed DC/Vertigo comic book that has Joseph Gordon-Levitt on board as director and star.

David Goyer wrote the treatment and a search was conducted to ensnare a scribe to tackle the ambitious translation in what New Line hopes will be a trilogy.

Sandman tells the tale of Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams. The comic book began in the horror realm but quickly made its mark in fantasy and mythology as Neil Gaiman, the author of the series, introduced the Endless, a group of powerful brothers and sisters that includes Destiny, Death, Destruction, Despair, Desire and Delirium (as well as Dream).

The book helped establish DC's Vertigo imprint, won several awards, and its success crossed over into the mainstream.

Walter Hamada and Dave Neustadter are overseeing for New Line.

Heisserer established horror movie credentials with remakes of A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Thing as well as working on Final Destination 5.

He has two horror thrillers awaiting release from New Line: The Conjuring 2, whose script he worked on, and Lights Out, which he wrote and co-produced. The latter opens July 22.

Heisserer also wrote the script for The Story of Your Life, a sci-fi drama starring Amy Adams that is director’s Denis Villeneuve’s follow-up to his acclaimed drug cartel drama Sicario.

He is repped by WME, Art/Work Entertainment, and Jackoway Tyerman.

RE: SANDMAN
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.

I'd like to thank all the great people I've had the opportunity to work with on this one. I've had a blast with and learned a ton from David and Jack. Niija Kuykendall, Greg Silverman, and everyone at Warner Brothers have been fantastic, as have Geoff Johns and everyone at DC. And it's been a particular privilege as well as a rocking good time getting to know Mr. Gaiman, whose generous insights and masterful work have certainly convinced me that the Lord of Dreams and the Prince of Stories are one and the same Endless pattern.

The drama, from Warner Bros. TV, landed at the streamer with what sources describe as a massive financial commitment and DC Entertainment's most-expensive TV foray ever.Neil Gaiman's beloved Vertigo comic Sandman is finally coming to the screen.

More than three years after New Line's failed attempt to turn the graphic novel into a feature film, Netflix has signed what sources describe as a massive financial deal with Warner Bros. Television to adapt the best-seller into a live-action TV series. Sources familiar with the deal note that it is the most expensive TV series that DC Entertainment has ever done.

Allan Heinberg (Wonder Woman, ABC's The Catch, Grey's Anatomy) is set to write and serve as showrunner on the straight-to-series drama. Gaiman, who created the ongoing monthly comic, will exec produce alongside David Goyer. Gaiman and Goyer were both attached to New Line's most recent attempts to adapt Sandman for the big screen.

Netflix and Warners declined comment as a formal deal has not yet closed. An episode count was not immediately available.

The Netflix take represents the first Sandman TV series after numerous efforts to adapt Gaiman's horror, fantasy and mythology tale about 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).

Attempts to turn Sandman into a feature film franchise started in the 1990s with Warner Bros. — the parent company of Vertigo, the former imprint of DC Comics. The film went through multiple incarnations and writers in the 1990s and early 2000s and eventually toiled away in development purgatory. Gaiman (whose work has been adapted for TV with Starz's American Gods, Amazon's Good Omens) announced in late 2013 that he was teaming with Joseph Gordon-Levitt for a feature film that wound up being set up at Warner Bros.-owned New Line. Gordon-Levitt was set to star and direct before bailing on the film following creative differences with the studio in March 2016. Eric Heisserer, the last screenwriter attached to New Line's Sandman, said in November 2016 that he was no longer attached to the 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," Heisserer told iO9 in November 2016. "The structure of the feature film really doesn't mesh with this. So I went back and said here's the work that I've done. This isn’t where it should be. It needs to go to TV."

Sources say Warners, which controls the IP, took the Sandman TV pitch to multiple outlets, including corporate sibling HBO. The premium cable network did not make a play for the series given the massive price tag attached (and likely number of other big world shows in the works) and Netflix snapped it up as the streamer continues to make an active play for massive IP that could be turned into subscriber-friendly franchises a la Amazon's Lord of the Rings and HBO's Game of Thrones.

Since parting ways with Marvel, Netflix has aggressively pursued big-name IP — like Magic: The Gathering, The Chronicles of Narnia and the works of Roald Dahl — as the streamer courts new subscribers with exclusive new takes on beloved franchises.

The Sandman deal will provide a financial windfall to Warners, which is in final negotiations for a new film and TV pact with J.J. Abrams that could be worth north of $500 million. Sources note that the studio opted to sell it to a third party in a bid to bring additional revenue to the company rather than placing it at its forthcoming streaming service. The studio will next look to re-sign prolific comedy producer Chuck Lorre as the Big Bang Theory co-creator's current deal expires in 2020.

Heinberg is repped by Hansen Jacobson; Goyer, whose TV credits include Syfy's Krypton and NBC's Constantine(both based on DC characters), is with WME and Bloom Hergott; Gaiman is with CAA.