Given the subject matter, being stranded in “development hell” might feel more than apt: Of all the comic book properties that have evaded adaptation to other mediums, The Sandman might be one of the most legendary. But now that Neil Gaiman has learned to speak “fluent showrunner” thanks to his work on last year’s adaptation of Good Omens, things have changed dramatically.
However, while Gaiman is currently at work on a Netflix adaptation of the series with executive producers Allan Heinberg and David Goyer, the first Sandman adaptation to ever actually be completed isn’t on screen. Instead, this week Audible has launched the first part in what promises to be an epic audio-only experience, adapted and directed by Dirk Maggs (who first wanted to adapt Sandman for the radio in 1992). The cast is incredible, including James McAvoy, Michael Sheen, Riz Ahmed, Justin Vivian Bond, Arthur Darvill, Kat Dennings, Taron Egerton, William Hope, Josie Lawrence, Miriam Margolyes, Samantha Morton, Bebe Neuwirth, and Andy Serkis, and it’s anchored by Gaiman as the Narrator, keeping the action moving while reading descriptions drawn from his original comic book scripts.
Details on the Netflix series are a bit scarce, in part because production on the Netflix series was shut down by the pandemic, but in this extended interview with Collider, Gaiman explains that because the Audible adaptation is extraordinarily loyal to the comics, he looks at it as a “control group” that lets him and the Netflix writers experiment with making changes to the original story. He also reveals what kind of changes they’re looking to make, as well as getting into how they were able to assemble such an all-star cast for the Audible adaptation, and if that cast might affect the choices being made for the live-action series. (Crossing my fingers hard that Dennings can reprise the role of Death.) Watch the full video of our conversation above, or read the lightly edited transcription below.
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19 июл 2020
