Joseph Gordon-Levitt Ditches His SANDMAN Film Project… Bummer
Bad news for all of you who were looking forward to Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s big screen adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, he has dropped out of the project. The news came from Gordon-Levitt himself, saying the reason he dropped out was due to creative differences with New Line Cinema, who Warner Bros. handed the project off to along with all of DC Comics other Vertigo properties.
The news hit not long after is was announced that the studio had hired The Conjuring 2 screenwriter Eric Heisserer to take a crack at the script. Apparently everything was going fine with the project until New Line came into the picture. Gordon-Levitt offered a full explanation of his departure below on his Facebook page:
“So, as you might know if you like to follow these sorts of things, a while back, David Goyer and I made a producing deal with Warner Brothers to develop a movie adaptation of Neil Gaiman's SANDMAN. Neil himself came on as an executive producer, we hired the excellent screenwriter, Jack Thorne, and we started in on the ambitious task of adapting one of the most beloved and boundary-pushing titles in the world of comics. I was pleased with the progress we were making, even though we still had quite a ways to go.
“Recently, as you also might know if you like to follow these sorts of things, the sorta "ownership" (for lack of a better term) of the Sandman material changed hands when Warner Brothers shifted the entire catalogue of Vertigo comics (an imprint of DC) to their subsidiary, New Line. And a few months ago, 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. So unfortunately, I decided to remove myself from the project. I wish nothing but the best for the team moving forward.
“I’d like to thank all the great people I've had the opportunity to work with on this one. I've had a blast with and learned a ton from David and Jack. Niija Kuykendall, Greg Silverman, and everyone at Warner Brothers have been fantastic, as have Geoff Johns and everyone at DC. And it's been a particular privilege as well as a rocking good time getting to know Mr. Gaiman, whose generous insights and masterful work have certainly convinced me that the Lord of Dreams and the Prince of Stories are one and the same Endless pattern.”
That’s discouraging. I always felt that Gordon-Levitt was going to be the guy to give fans the best adaptation of Sandman we could get. He seems to have an understanding of the character that the studio obviously doesn't, which is a shame. The studio thinks that they know best and were stubborn enough to push one of the film projects greatest assets out of it.
At least Gordon-Levitt believed in his vision so much that he wasn't willing to compromise it and give into the studio pressure. I was really excited about this film project, but now that excitement has died down. Now, I don't think this film will be as good as it could have been has Gordon-Levitt been able to give us his vision of the character.