Joseph Gordon-Levitt has confirmed the recent rumor that he will be heading up a movie adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s classic Sandman. In a tweet late Monday night:
Ladies and gentlemen, I’m incredibly honored to be working with David Goyer, Warner Bros, and
@neilhimself on SANDMAN.#Prelude
Further coverage from Deadline states that Gordon-Levitt will be starring in and directing the film, to be written by David Goyer and produced by Warner Bros. The use of the #Prelude hashtag also suggests that Warner Bros. is banking on Sandman becoming a multi-film franchise, and that the first film will cover the events of the first collection “Preludes & Nocturnes.”
Update: Gordon-Levitt has since clarified, via Twitter, that he has “signed on as a producer of Sandman. The rest remains to be seen. Delighted you guys are excited.”
First reaction: I’ll believe it when I see it.
Second reaction: I always thought Preludes would be a bad place to start the movie series. It’s kind of a bad place to start the comics series. If I were the famous star/director lucky enough to ink the deal, I’d start with Seasons of Mist and work backward.
Third reaction: Best of luck to him. Be nice to get a good flick out of this.
First reaction: I’m not opposed to JGL as Dream…but…I don’t think you could have named an actor I would have less associated with the role.
Second reaction: Please, please, pleasepleasepleasepleasePLEASE don’t let this suck. I have an incredibly low threshold…I don’t need “good,” I don’t even really care if it’s even just “acceptable,” I just really really don’t want this to be objectively “awful” or “disappointing.”
Third reaction: Eh, at least it’s finally going somewhere. Endless send that we end up with an American Gods TV show and a Sandman movie in the same cultural moment.
@2 Agreed. I love JGL, but picture Dream older, taller, more… Bowie-esque. American Gods was dropped by HBO, I thought, but maybe Netflix an pick it up.
Now who would play Death? Last time I thought about it, Claire Danes would’ve been my pick. Now? I’m not up on young actresses.
The thing I’ve always found the strangest about the attempts to adapt this series into a movie is that Dream is more of a window into the world than a traditional protagonist. He doesn’t really have much of a character arc since he’s, y’know, a stoic, ageless immortal being and all, and some of the most interesting stories in the series happen when he’s not even the main character.
Michele Greene, she was gorgeous as Alice Cullen….
Sorry meant to add that Michele Greene could make a good Death…..
JGL just confirmed that he’s only signed as a producer, at least so far.
I really like this news (regardless of how it ends up) because it means WB is trying new directions with their DC properties, not just blindly repeating the “Superhero Origin Story”-Lather-Rinse-Repeat. Though I guess that’s a bit unfair, considering Constantine wasn’t that long ago, so WB has been trying other properties, if not always with the care they should. *sigh* But it would be nice to see WB take advantage of the DC/Vertigo bench and do some non-tentpole, limited appeal but still good movies.
Actually, his latest tweet said he was only a producer for now, and maybe will be more but nothing is certain yet…
So yeah…
Well, these are great news.
As others said already, JGL was not what I would have expected, but he is a great actor, so why not!
And yeah – great series, don’t screw it up hollywood.
really, don’t.
I could see Benedict Cumberbatch as Dream….well Cumberbatch as anything really. Brie Larson as Death. But honestly I think casting relatively unknown actors could be nice too. Same goes for American Gods – I’m super curious how they’d cast Shadow.
@@.-@: Dream doesn’t have a character arc? I don’t think we read the same book.
I will just give up on humanity and DIE if JGL casts himself as Morpheus and Neil Gaiman actually okays it!!!
Puff, if they’re going to go thorugh the trouble of making a movie at all I don’t think Preludes would be a bad place to start. Why not start with the story of how the Dream King got into…the situation the series began with? That would be the best possible introduction to him and the worlds he inhabits, wouldn’t you say? Let’s not overthink this, as it’s already a bit challenging for Hollywood to rap it’s minds around, material-wise, but the structure of that first story is a clear jumping off point for all the stories that followed. A bad guy seeking immortality butt haing a monkey-paw-ish backfire event instead? That’s a movie. *Also, I’m a bot. This crecaptcha crap has got to go. It is so annoying that I have to prove I’m human by reading fake bad handwriting.*
Tim Mison (Ichabod from Sleepy Hollow) for Dream – he’s got the height and the imposing figure.
Luna LovegoodEvanna Lynnch for Delirium.LOL@my grammar
I’ve always liked JGL, but not as Morpheus! Tom Mison WOULD be an awesome choice. I think Jason Momoa should be Shadow. BUT Dave McKean should do the artwork for both projects… I’d definitely be more interested.
I second Benedict Cumberbatch.
Adrien Brody for Dream.
Very, very, very nervous.
Felt this would have made a MUCH better TV show than a movie (yes, even a series of movies) because to focus solely on any one character or their specific stories (even the title character) seems limiting, particualry when the source material is considered.
Felt the same way about a Watchmen miniseries & still stand by that one.
All that said, I REALLY like JGL so his involvement is great to hear about.
I’m of the idea that Ezra Miller would be I-DE-AL for Dream. Dont take Perks of Being a Wallflower, though a good movie, as an example of his acting talent. Take We Need To Talk About Kevin, where he gets into your mind like McDowell in A Clockwork Orange or Hopper in Blue Velvet. He facial feature and scrawny physique fit the character great. But hey, Joe GL could surprise us all too!
