Neil Gaiman does a fair amount of interviews overall and sometimes a little more slips into the conversation than we’ve had before, particularly when it comes to the Sandman feature film. Things have certainly progressed in the past year as Joseph Gordon-Levitt came on board and things are shaping up with David S. Goyer involved as well, and especially since it’s being kept separate from the superhero slate. But with Benedict Cumberbatch having made the move to Doctor Strange, one of the hopeful castings has fallen through and Gaiman has an idea or two.
“There was a time Johnny Depp would’ve been a great Morpheus, but now he’s too old and it’s fine,” Gaiman told RadioTImes.com. “I think the first time I saw Benedict [Cumberbatch] was as Sherlock Holmes, I thought, ‘wow, that’s incredibly Morpheus.'”
As Gaiman points out, Cumberbatch has officially been announced as Marvel Studios’ “Doctor Strange” star, but the writer isn’t concerned about headlining “Sandman” with an actor right for the part. “Tom Hiddleston is still out there,” he declared. “And the truth is, as far as I’m concerned, anybody who sounds English with great cheekbones can probably pull it off.”
“With Joseph Gordon-Levitt in charge, his instincts are good and he loves the material. He wants it to be true to the material,” he said. “[T]hey’ve written a script. I got a phone call about two, three weeks ago from Joe and David [S. Goyer] saying, ‘Jack did a script, we read it, we want some things done to it. We want you to see it, but not this version. The next version will be in three weeks and then you’ll be the first person to see it.’ So I am now a week before seeing the script. It’s going to come in just before Christmas. I’m nervous, I’m on tenterhooks.”
“But do I have good feelings? Yeah I do.”
Comic concept: In PRELUDES & NOCTURNES, an occultist attempting to capture Death to bargain for eternal life traps her younger brother Dream instead. After his seventy-year imprisonment and eventual escape, Dream, also known as Morpheus, goes on a quest for his lost objects of power. On his arduous journey Morpheus encounters Lucifer, John Constantine, and an all-powerful madman. This book also includes the story “The Sound of Her Wings,” which introduces us to the pragmatic and perky goth girl Death.
