Neil Gaiman recalled the moment when he learned of Michael Jackson’s interest in playing Morpheus in a Sandman movie in the 90s
Although The Sandman is one of the most acclaimed comics, the series from Warner Bros. Television and the world’s largest platform became a success, after years of searching for a great adaptation and discarding film projects, even with the presence of stars of the stature of Michael Jackson.
Do not miss: Neil Gaiman reveals the worst adaptation of The Sandman he has read
It is known that Michael Jackson was a regular reader of comics, and one of his wishes was to bring a story to the big screen, which is why he first tried to buy Marvel to become Spider-Man.
Michael Jackson himself also sought to embody a DC Comics character in the 90s, Morpheus, in one of the frustrated projects to bring Sandman to the big screen, as reported by Neil Gaiman himself.
Michael Jackson wanted to play Morpheus in THE SANDMAN. Yup, you read that right.
Watch the full #happysadconfused with @neilhimself here: https://t.co/04iXe0GGvp pic.twitter.com/vrchzPHAsU
— Josh Horowitz (@joshuahorowitz) August 26, 2022
“In 1996, they took me to Warner, where the then president of Warner Bros. sat me down and told me that Michael Jackson had called him the day before and asked if he could play Morpheus in The Sandman… So, there was a lot of interest in this and they knew that (The Sandman) was one of the Crown Jewels and what did I think? And I was like, ‘Ooh”
That project, like Jon Petters’ 1999 screenplay, failed to materialize, as Gaiman understands that a story the caliber of The Sandman needs a more-than-perfect adaptation.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt also did not fill Neil Gaiman’s eye
Another of the projects that Gaiman rejected was the one planned by Joseph Gordon-Levitt as director and protagonist in 2016, which did not make it to the big screen.
“I refused to get involved, I refused to write it; I refused to be the executive producer… If I did, I would lose the only power I had, which was being able to speak out against a bad Sandman movie.”
Gaiman has repeatedly mentioned that a film would not capture the essence of a story published in 75 volumes, distributed in 10 volumes.
“If you’re trying to make a Sandman movie, the first question is, what do you aspire to? Because Sandman, when he finished, he’s 3,000 comic pages. So what’s your movie?
Source: Entertainment Weekly
She is Death, and you can meet her at SMASH and DC Comics Mexico
An icon for his generation of comic readers. Death of the Eternals grew out of the acclaimed New York Times #1 bestselling masterpiece Sandman to become one of writer Neil Gaiman’s most beloved creations.
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