Gaiman's 'Sandman' Heading for Television?
Neil Gaiman's Sandman is one of the most critically-acclaimed and fan-beloved comic books ever created. And understandably so -- for its richly-layered, suspenseful tales helped revamp mainstream comics, broadening the medium's appeal among adults as it laid the groundwork for much of the horror and dark fantasy titles that followed. Now the series, long under consideration for film adaptation, looks like it might be headed for television, under the guidance of someone familiar to fans of horror TV. More after the jump.
The Hollywood Reporter has the exclusive scoop on what could be a Sandman TV show.
"Warner Bros. TV," reports the website, "is in the midst of acquiring television rights from sister company DC Entertainment and in talks with several writer-producers about adapting the 1990s comic. At the top of the list is Eric Kripke, creator of the CW’s horror-tinged Supernatural."
"Up until a few months ago, DC was in talks with HBO and James Mangold to develop a show minus WBTV's involvement, but that never coalesced.Gaiman was not officially involved with the HBO attempt, though he and Mangold held several rounds of talks surrounding characters and story. The author is not involved in the new developments, though since it is early in the process, that may change. In fact, securing Gaiman will prove key for the project to go forward.
"Kripke has been described as interested in tackling an adaptation but cautious because the comic book has such a passionate following and is held in such high regard..."
As the Reporter points out, Kripke could be an excellent choice for the project, since he tackled horror, fantasy, mythology and religion -- all the things that Sandman is about -- more or less successfully as showrunner on Supernatural. But since Gaiman once told me that the main problem with selling Hollywood on Sandman was the fact that the comic has no real "bad guy", it remains to be seen how the book will translate to commercial television, a medium that thrives on recurring menaces and action.
What do you think? Could Sandman work on TV? And Is Kripke the man for the job?
