Updates on Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

It's been quite some time since we heard any updates on the upcoming adaptation of Neil Gaiman's THE SANDMAN, with our last report on the Joseph Gordon-Levitt-produced flick coming way back in February when Jack Thorne was announced as the films writer. At that time Gordon-Levitt was also being rumored to star and possibly direct the adaptation of the popular Vertigo comic, and now Deadline is seemingly offering confirmation that the popular actor will indeed work both sides of the camera, starring in and directing the film, and making this his second directorial feature following last years DON JON.

Producer David S. Goyer also offered another confirmation that THE SANDMAN is still moving forward, sharing that the comics' creator, Neil Gaiman, was on board to help make it happen and that Warner Bros. is happy with the script. Goyer shared…

“I hesitate to definitively say when it might go before the cameras, but the one thing different between other iterations and ours is that Neil Gaiman has been in the room with us and is a vital part of the team… We have a draft Warners is very happy with and we’re moving forward, knock on wood.”

Joseph Gordon-Levitt also spoke about the project in a recent Reddit AMA, stating…

“Been doing a lot of work with David Goyer and Jack Thorne, working on the screenplay. We’ve been doing our meetings at the DC office, which is a frickin rad place to work. Also just had a great conversation last week with David and Mr. Gaiman. Neil has been extremely big hearted with me, and he’s the one I want to please most.”

It certainly sounds as if things are coming together nicely for THE SANDMAN, so we can only hope that the film will move forward into production sooner rather than later. While Gordon-Levitt's statements in the Reddit AMA is not exactly a confirmation that he'll be handling the directing duties, his camp has held off on denying that he'll helm the adaptation and he certainly sounds like he's taking a lot of the responsibility for doing justice to the source material, although that could just be the producer side of him talking. Either way, I'm excited for THE SANDMAN and Gordon-Levitt's involvement makes it even more promising as he's a super-talented actor and director.

The Sandman series shifts between horror and fantasy, and the central character is Morpheus, the personification of dreams. After being held captive 70 years, Morpheus escapes, gains revenge and rebuilds his crumbling kingdom while trying to adapt to the times.

More on THE SANDMAN as we hear it.