Joseph Gordan-Levitt Brings Jack Thorne On Board to Pen ‘Sandman’ Screenplay
Ruby LeRouge
When the announcement was made that Actor/Director/All Around Creator Joseph Gordon-Levitt was taking on producing Neil Gaiman’s beloved comic series Sandman at Warner Bros, we couldn’t be more excited. Co-Producer David S. Goyer, who was behind Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight franchise, as well as Man of Steel, the forth coming Justice League screenplay and writing on the Constantine tv series, (seriously, if it fights, flies or shoots laser beams from it’s eyes, Goyer was likely behind it in some capacity) will be joined by British born Writer Jack Thorne. Thorne would be best known on this side of the pond for his work on the dark fantasy show The Fades, or the British teen drama Skins (which was butchered by MTV, when they decided to make a US version). Thorne has an edgy writing style that will lend well to The Endless story lines, which never pulled punches. It’s unknown if Thorne will be alone in the writing process, or if all three creators involved will be. Though Gordon-Levitt doesn’t have much to his writing credits, aside from the 2013 movie Don Jon, and episodes of his series Hit Record Joe, he has shown he has talent in many areas, especially on bringing great creative minds together. Thorne, Gordon-Levitt and Goyer all have writing traits that could make Sandman great, if a true collaboration was achieved.
Sandman tells the story of The Lord of Dreams, aka Morpheus, who in the beginning of the long running series is captured by a secret society who holds him prisoner for 70 years. Madness in the human realm spreads, and his kingdom in the dream realm is laid to waste. This story line had some truly brutal moments, so it will be interesting how closely they will follow it. The story will be even more fascinating to watch if the creators of the screen version include cameos with the rest of Gaiman’s Endless, Dream’s siblings Death, Desire, Delirium, Destruction, Despair and Destiny. The story of death also ran as her own series under DC’s Vertigo comics.
According to Deadline Neil Gaiman is on board as Executive Producer. I am so glad to hear this, more comic based enterprises should include their original creators in the process. It leads to work that is true to the original intent and happier fans. It is still unknown if Gordon-Levitt will be directing and acting in addition to his work as Producer of the project. We will keep you updated on all the latest Sandman news.
