Netflix Signs “Massive Financial Deal” to Bring Neil Gaiman’s Sandman to TV
Neil Gaiman and Vertigo Comics beloved Sandman series will reportedly come to Netflix after the streaming service reportedly signed a “massive financial deal” with Warner Bros.
According to a report by The Hollywood Reporter (THR), the drama from Warner Bros. TV will be executive produced by Gaiman and The Dark Knight writer David Goyer, who is also attached to the upcoming Hellraiser movie. Allan Heinberg will both write and serve as showrunner on the series. The show is currently scheduled for 11 episodes.
Netflix’s VP of Originals Channing Dungey stated, “We’re thrilled to partner with the brilliant team that is Neil Gaiman, David S. Goyer and Allan Heinberg to finally bring Neil’s iconic comic book series, The Sandman, to life onscreen.” Dungey added, “From its rich characters and storylines to its intricately built-out worlds, we’re excited to create an epic original series that dives deep into this multi-layered universe beloved by fans around the world.”
This news comes three years after New Line attempted to bring the Vertigo series to life on the big screen. According to sources, Netflix has made a deal with Warner Bros. to create a television adaptation. However, those plans fell through with multiple screenwriters departing the project including Eric Heisserer.
Heisserer told i09 back in 2016 that he believed the property needed to be adapted into a TV series:
“I had many conversations with Neil [Gaiman] on this, and I did a lot of work on the feature and 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. 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. So I talked myself out of a job!”
While the show has landed at Netflix, THR reports the series was initially shopped to HBO. HOwever, they passed on it to due to the price of the series. And the price tag appears to be massive. THR reports it is “the most expensive TV series that DC Entertainment has ever done.”
THR’s sources indicate Warner Bros. decided to sell the show “to a third party in a big to bring additional revenue to the company rather than placing it at its forthcoming streaming service.” Warner Bros. is currently in negotiations with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams in a deal that could be upwards of $500 million.
Gaiman’s [easyazon_link identifier=”1401241883″ locale=”US” tag=”boundingintocomics-20″]Sandman[/easyazon_link] featured art by Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Jill Thompson, Shawn McManus, Marc Hempel, and Michael Zulli. The original series was 75 issues long and ran from 1989 to 1996.
The series followed Dream of the Endless also known as Morpheus as he attempts to rebuild his kingdom after it fell into disarray when he was captured by a group of occultists.
What do you think of Sandman coming to Netflix? Does an environment such as Netflix serve as more suitable space for the graphic novel instead of movies?
More About:TV Shows
Read This Next
