The Sandman live-action adaptation on Netflix will be slightly different than the graphic novels, but fans of the original comics will still love the series, Neil Gaiman said.
Gaiman, who published The Sandman comics from 1989 to 1996, revealed in a Collider interview that there would be changes for the Netflix adaptation. He and executive producers Allan Heinberg and David Goyer wanted to come up with a version fit for the platform after doing the Audible version of his creative work.
Fans are going to love the Netflix version
The author said that fans familiar with The Sandman comic series will appreciate the Netflix version. But they won’t have to worry about the show changing too much because Gaiman is directly involved with the plot development and the narratives.
“I think if you are somebody who knows the original comics, well, you will have an absolute advantage plot-wise in the Netflix series,” Gaiman said. “But much like something like Game of Thrones, while you will have an advantage, you will not always be one step ahead.”
Learning from the Audible version’s success
The Sandman Audible (audio edition) came out on July 15, 2020. It features the voices of powerhouse actors like James McAvoy, Michael Sheen, Riz Ahmed, Andy Serkis, Kat Dennings, Taron Egerton, Arthur Darvill, Justin Vivian Bond, Samantha Morton, William Hope, Miriam Margolyes, Josie Lawrence, and Bebe Neuwirth.
So far, The Sandman fans have been mostly positive about the Audible version. The response proves that Gaiman’s experiment to change some parts of the original story, without actually messing up the spirit of the comics, is working. It’s what they plan to do to the Netflix series as well.
“We’re going to adapt it, but we’re going to keep it the same,” Gaiman explained.
Casting the Netflix show
But the Netflix adaptation is far from coming together. Gaiman and the rest of the producers have yet to start casting. Pre-production was supposed to take place before the pandemic lockdown; however, Gaiman said he has some ideas about who could be in the show.
The producer hinted that some actors from the Audible version might be asked to join The Sandman on Netflix. He has been taking notes of their performances during the recording. So, fans might actually see McAvoy, Dennings, Egerton, and Sheen reprise their characters.
Netflix announced the development of The Sandman live-action in June 2019. No word yet on when the streaming platform plans to release the series since production will still begin.
Image used courtesy of nrkbeta / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)