Bringing Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed comic book The Sandman to live-action was looking like an impossible task for the longest time. The project languished in development hell for decades, with countless studios and talents trying to get it off the ground, lending weight to the theory that a faithful translation might be unfilmable.
Pulp Fiction producer Roger Avary, Pirates of the Caribbean duo Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, giant mechanical spider enthusiast Jon Peters, comic book movie veteran David S. Goyer, Enola Holmes scribe Jack Thorne, Academy Award nominated Arrival writer Eric Heisserer and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were all attached at various points, with the latter once set to star, executive produce and possibly even direct.
However, not only is The Sandman finally in production at Netflix with shooting having commenced midway through October, but another name has been confirmed for the cast this week. The streaming service have been keeping things tightly under wraps, with leading man Tom Sturridge the only member of the roster to be announced so far, but word is leaking out that Game of Thrones and Star Wars alum Gwendoline Christie has also boarded the ensemble.
There’s no intel yet on who the actress is playing, but she’s clearly struck up a friendship with Gaiman having recently collaborated on a radio adaptation of The Sleeper and the Spindle. Television veteran and Wonder Woman screenwriter Allan Heinberg, meanwhile, is the showrunner for The Sandman, which marks a radical departure from his previous small screen credits which include Party of Five, Gilmore Girls, Sex and the City, The O.C. and Grey’s Anatomy. It’s still unclear when we can expect to see the finished product, but the tail end of this year or the beginning of 2022 feel like safe bets.
