Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema’s planned adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman comic book series has hit another stumbling block, with screenwriter Eric Heisserer (A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Thing) exiting the project after coming to the conclusion that it is better suited as a TV series rather than a movie.
“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,”Heisserer tells io9. “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!”
Heisserer boarded the project following the departure of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who was initially attached to produce and star before pulling out, stating that: “I came to realize that the folks at New Line and I just don’t see eye to eye on what makes Sandman special, and what a film adaptation could/should be.”
Do you agree with Heisserer? Is Sandman better suited to the small screen? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…
Originally published November 7, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
