The Sandman is one of the popular DC Comic stories with which Warner Bros. is venturing into the DC Cinematic Universe. DC Comic and Warner Bros have their hands full with a large list of films in the pipeline and they have decided to involve Vertigo to help them in the production of the film adaptation of the popular comic strip. Vertigo is the DC Comic section that deals with adult comics.
The news of The Sandman being used for a film adaptation came way back in 2013 with Joseph Gordon-Levitt showing an interest in the famous comic series. The production team was not forthcoming about details related to the film, until recently. There is official report that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the producer of the film.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be joining Jack Thorne, David S. Goyer and Neil Gaiman to work on the script for the film. Apart from being a scriptwriter for The Sandman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is supposed to star as well as direct it. There has, however, been no official confirmation about this piece of information.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt was recently part of a Reddit AMA where he answered fan queries about The Sandman. There were a lot of fans who felt that The Sandman is better suited for television rather than be turned into a film.
The format of the television series would allow the plot to be true to the comic book, allowing greater scope to explore the characters and the complex storyline. This idea is, however, not supported by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
He believes that sticking so closely to the real plot line of the comic will not be a practical move. He goes on to explain that no matter how closely they follow the comic book, the fans will never be satisfied with what they have at hand.
It would be better to make a grand cinematic adaptation of the famous comic by reworking on the storyline and giving the fans their favorite comic strip in a manner they never would have thought possible.
Gordon-Levitt believes that the kind of stature The Sandman enjoys in the world of comic, it deserves to be treated in a grand manner. These days the popular comic characters from both the Marvel and DC Comic universe are being adapted on screen in a larger than life fashion and The Sandman deserves the same kind of visual and cinematic treatment.
Unlike the comics like Batman and Avengers, the one drawback in dealing with The Sandman is the plot of the story doesn’t always deal with the main character of the Morpheus, also regarded as the Dream. Plus the plot line also involves a large number of different stories on the side, which go on to impact the main plot in a large way. As a director and a scriptwriter Joseph Gordon-Levitt will have to work on these limitations.
The Sandman deals with Morpheus, who is one of the Endless. He was held prisoner by a cult for over 70 years. When he finally gets his freedom back, he goes on a killing spree to kill those who held him captive. Once he is done taking revenge, he goes back to being the master of dreams.