There have been many attempts at turning Neil Gaiman’s Sandman saga into a film or TV series over the years. Currently, Netflix has the keys to the realm of the Dreaming with Allan Heinberg serving as showrunner. But in 2010, James Mangold pitched HBO on his own version of the series that never materialized. While speaking with Discussing Film, Mangold reflected on his efforts to get the series made. He also explained what attracted him to the property in the first place.
Mangold was actually having regular conversations with Gaiman while trying to bring Sandman to the small screen. Unfortunately, a bout of studio infighting at Warner Bros. stymied his plans.
“It’s no secret that I was trying to pull together a version of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman,” said Mangold. “I pitched it to HBO years ago and they bought the pitch as a long form series and then it got undone by a political turf war at WB. Regardless, now it’s happening and I am so happy for Neil who I think is a marvellous person as well as a supremely brilliant artist. His unique vision weaves the psychological, psychedelic, romantic, sexual and fantastical in a way that is both personal and epic.”
RELATED: Neil Gaiman Updates the Status of Netflix’s Sandman Series
Mangold eventually got a chance to try his hand at a comic book adaptation with The Wolverine in 2013. He followed this up with Logan in 2017, and that film is now considered one of the superhero genre’s best offerings. However, Mangold doesn’t want to start throwing out more comic book movie ideas just yet.
“In regard to other projects of the future, I couldn’t possibly speak about conjecture,” continued Mangold. “Because anything I say in the realm of comic books becomes instant nitro-glycerine ready to haunt me for the next 10 years on Twitter.”
Would you have liked to see what James Mangold would have done with Sandman? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes 30th Anniversary Edition
