First Joss Whedon dropped off Wonder Woman, then it was announced that David Goyer walked away from The Flash so that Big Liar director Shawn Levy could come aboard (destroying any hope of a descent movie), and now the guy who brought us Batman and Robin wants to direct Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman. Please say it isn’t so. Have the movie studios gone mad?
Joel Schumacher is apparently interested in directing a big screen adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s cult favorite comic book The Sandman. While this doesn’t indicate anything set in stone, it’s just a comment, it’s a horrible idea which could easily snowball into reality.
While Schumacher is best known for ruining the Batman film series, he has in fact directed quite a few good films over the year (we tend to forget): The Lost Boys, A Time to Kill, Falling Down, St. Elmo’s Fire, 8MM and Phone Booth.
At last year’s San Diego Comic Con, Gaiman told his fans, “I’d rather no Sandman movie got made than [to have] a bad Sandman movie.”
So let’s hope that Gaiman would have the foresight to stop such a monstrosity.
Published in the United States by DC Comics’ Vertigo division for 75 issues from 1988 until 1996, The Sandman is widely considered one of the most original, sophisticated and artistically ambitious comic book series of the modern age.
The plot, as summarized by its creator is: “The king of dreams learns one must change or die and then makes his decision.” The series centers on Dream, an immortal anthropomorphic personification of dreams.
February 6th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
A most awesome comic book series and an incredibly bad decision to have Joel Schumacher involved in any way, shape, or form. Schumacher needs to stick to big-budget schlock and leave literary adaptations (and yes, the Sandman series qualifies as literary) to more talented filmmakers (or filmmakers more likely to “get” Gaiman’s vision and translate it to the big or small screen).
February 6th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
I think the more interesting question is:
Is it possible to squeese The Sandman series into a two hour movie?
I have not read the series yet, but the people I know that have say it’s too dense to edit down for screen?
What do you think?
February 6th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
I think your friends are right. It’s NOT possible. Sandman ran 75 issues and they were full of dense allusions, ideas, and storylines. Sandman would be better adapted as an HBO series or min-series (as I’ve heard they’re doing with Garth Ennis’ Preacher comic book series).
February 6th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Well here’s a question: Do you think they could turn the first book or first couple books into a movie and set it up as the first in a long series of films?
February 6th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Good question. I’d probably have to revisit the series to get a better idea. If I recall correctly, Sandman consists of one long arc (encompassing the entire series) and multiple, discrete arcs (probably in 6-issue increments). I seriously need to re-read the Sandman series. DC’s re-issuing Sandman in multiple volumes (20 issues to a volume, first 18 have been recolored).
Has a script been prepared yet? I’m curious as to what approach they’re taking.
p.s. Can’t wait to read your thoughts on Norbit. Looks like hella fun.
July 20th, 2008 at 9:00 am
NOOOOO!!!! Don’t let Schumacher do the Sandman movie!!! He totally ruin Phantom and just thinks that he’ll be doin us a favour by making that a movie? I don’t think so!