Fans of dark fantasy writer Neil Gaiman will know and love him for different reasons. Known as a writer that's far from pigeonholed into one type of work, Gaiman has done it all, from journalism to short stories to comics and novellas. Some of his most famous works include the novels Neverwhere, Stardust and Coraline, and most of his work has been turned into a movie or TV show.
His best-known work, 'The Sandman' comics are no exception; finally, fans of the stories following a whacky host of characters from Morpheus, the King of Dreams, to his big sister Death, is becoming the Netflix series fans have been waiting for.
Nail Gaiman's Past Works Have Impressed Fans
Neil Gaiman is no stranger to having his surreal ideas turned into TV shows. Good Omens and American Gods are both his creations and have been met with great praise and success. With American Gods, however, some long-time fans of Gaiman's work were unhappy with the direction the team behind the series decided to take the show, a direction that differs from the book.
Neil's response to this has been to explain that he was less involved with the American Gods TV adaptation, for he wasn't a showrunner for the latest series.
Even though Gaiman has had his fair share of rejections when it comes to getting his material to the screen, the shows and movies that have reached final production have done incredibly well.
For example, Good Omens, which was a book Neil co-wrote with Terry Pratchett and known to be a phenomenally successful cult classic, became a TV show back in 2019 and won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form in 2020 and Neil won the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (Bradbury Award) for writing the show adaptation, as well as being nominated for several other awards.
With Gaiman being a writer with a cult following since the late '80s, it's no wonder true fans are incredibly excited to see his oldest creation, The Sandman not just be turned into a series for Netflix, but to also have Neil Gaiman heavily involved in the transformation. Despite no announcement of its exact release, fans have been reassured that The Sandman is in safe hands after a behind-the-scenes clip dropped in July 2021.
Netflix teased fans with a 'behind-the-scenes' sneak peek, which featured Neil Gaiman who explained what Sandman is about and talked about his excitement for seeing an idea that has been inside of him for decades finally be brought to life.
"Sandman is the story of the place that we go when we close our eyes at night - it's called the Dreaming," said Neil. "And the Dreaming is ruled by Morpheus."
"For 32 years," Neil continued, "anybody that read The Sandman comics - that world is ending. I'm here at Shepperton Studios, and I'm going to see what happens when you bring dreams to life."
It was also revealed in the sneak peek that Tom Sturridge is an 'obsessive Sandman fan.' Tom will be playing The Sandman's main character Morpheus in the Netflix adaptation.
"I knew I had to be involved because something truly unique was going to happen," said actress Gwendoline Christie, who plays Lucifer.
When Neil Gaiman first saw the set for Morpheus' capture, his response was, "Holy s**t, this is amazing."
Knowing that everyone involved in the project loves The Sandman has made fans feel reassured and even more excited to see it.
"I still can’t believe this is actually happening, if they pull this off, the world has no idea what they’re in store for," one fan said.
The Sandman is in the best hands it can be. This is a huge relief to fans of Gaiman, who were left disappointed with American Gods, which was canceled after three seasons. Neil has made it very clear online that even though he was an executive producer on the show, he had a smaller role than what he did with other projects.
At the time when American Gods was airing, Neil stated that he was already a showrunner for Good Omens and could not be showrunner for two different shows. But for The Sandman, he has been an advisor and executive producer and will make sure The Sandman TV adaptation delivers.
It's clear from what's known about the upcoming Sandman series is that Neil Gaiman wants fans to know that the series is being made for people who love Sandman by people who love the original story. The Sandman universe is in safe hands, and fans cannot wait to see Morpheus' dark and twisted story be brought to life.
