Neil Gaiman names 3 actors he could see playing Morpheus in Sandman

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Neil Gaiman‘s SANDMAN series has been one of the film projects most desired by fans for years. It finally looks to be closer to happening than ever with Joseph Gordon-Levitt developing the film at Warner Bros. Comic creator Neil Gaiman has been involved in the project and is expecting to see the latest draft of the screenplay soon, so it is likely only a matter of time before we are talking casting.

While Gordon-Levitt has not committed to starring in the film, some have seen him as a viable candidate for Morpheus, the titular Sandman. Gaiman himself had an opinion on the matter when asked who he would like to see headline SANDMAN. Here is what he told Badass Digest.

“It’s a funny thing with Morpheus. Again, it’s that thing where you look around and think, ‘Yes this person would be a fantastic person’, and then time passes. There was a time Johnny Depp would’ve been a great Morpheus, but now he’s too old and it’s fine. I think the first time I saw Benedict was as Sherlock Holmes, I thought, ‘Wow, that’s incredibly Morpheus’. And fans probably thought the same because they immediately started doing fan-art, meshing the two of them up…Then again, Tom Hiddleston is still out there! And the truth is, as far as I’m concerned, anybody who sounds English with great cheekbones can probably pull it off.”

While I think Hiddleston would be the ideal fit out of those three actors, especially based on his appearance and role in ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE, I don’t think any of these three would be viable candidates. Johnny Depp is not too old but I don’t think the scope of this project could afford him. Benedict Cumberbatch is now locked in as Marvel’s DOCTOR STRANGE while Hiddleston is Loki. I don’t see Marvel being okay with two of their big stars working on a DC Comics movie. Still, stranger things have happened.

I would still bank on Gordon-Levitt taking the role but I could also see someone like Daniel Radcliffe maybe trying it out. Radcliffe has been playing against type quite a bit lately. He may not be tall enough, but Hollywood studios can work magic.