As a Netflix series, “Sandman”, the adaptation of the cult comics penned by Neil Gaiman, is a complete success. As with Good Omens, the BBC series based on the novel with co-author Terry Pratchett, Gaiman took on the role of showrunner himself. Now the author has revealed the reason: An earlier attempt to adapt the comics to film was so bad , that he himself gave the script to the press to prevent the film.
The Sandman comics were supposed to be made into a film under producer Jon Peters as early as the 1990s. Gaiman wasn’t too keen on the script, though: “It was a mess. It never got better than a mess,” Gaiman said to rollingstone.com. “Huge mechanical spiders occurred.”
Peters’ screenplay was not only much more action-heavy than the philosophical comic series. Above all, seemingly random changes may have annoyed Gaiman. In this way, the authors would have turned the main character Morpheus, the ruler of the dream realm, and other characters such as Lucifer and the Corinthian – actually the antagonist of the series – into a family of identical triplets. Gaiman said that’s why he pitched the script himself to entertainment site Ain’t It Cool News. After the local critics tore it up, Peters refrained from filming it.
“The Worst Screenplay I’ve Ever Read”
With the mention of spiders, Gaiman caused a laugh, especially among Hollywood connoisseurs. Because producer Jon Peters is notorious for his penchant for mechanical spiders. As director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Dogma) announced in a lecture, Peters tried to incorporate them into his failed Superman film “Superman Lives”. Instead, Peters produced “Wild Wild West” – which actually features a giant mechanical spider.
Gaiman emphasized that he usually comes across as nice and polite on the phone. When he called an employee of Jon Peter’s office, he didn’t mince his words. “I said, ‘There wasn’t anything in it that I loved. There wasn’t anything I liked. It was the worst script I’ve ever read. It wasn’t just the worst ‘Sandman’ script. That was the worst script I’ve ever been sent.’”
“The Sandman” originally appeared as a graphic novel from 1989 to 1996 and made Gaiman famous in the gothic scene in particular. The first season of the Netflix film has been available on the streaming platform since August 5th.