Is 'The Sandman' really that impossible to adapt into live action?

if 'Legion' can work as a tv show, can't Neil Gaiman's 'The Sandman' work as either a FX or HBO show?

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No reason at all it couldn't be a show.

It's already essentially an episodic book. Which ironically may be a big reason they wouldn't make a show of it: every show is about being "binge watch"ed, heavily serialized.

But Joseph Gordon-Levitt is already developing it as a movie, which it absolutely does not work as. What's good about Sandman isn't the saga of Morpheus, he's just what ties all these disparate stories together.

It is a story, about stories, using stories, to tell a bigger story. It can be done but it would take some crazy Black Mirror level anthology in order to do it halfway decent. Plus all kinds of very good stage actors to pull off.

And who the hell could do Morpheus better than Alan Rickman?

Levitt dropped out earlier last year

Honestly, Rickman would have been perfect. My dream was to have like 4-5 actors playing him, so that his appearance shifted in each episode or series.

I honestly think Cumberbatch would also be a good dream, but only in that multi-actor scenario

Honestly it'd probably work best as an animated thing. Or you could maybe do something live-action with Hob as the main character.

>Honestly, Rickman would have been perfect. My dream was to have like 4-5 actors playing him, so that his appearance shifted in each episode or series.
>I honestly think Cumberbatch would also be a good dream, but only in that multi-actor scenario
I was personally hoping that they would do a different actor every time it shifted to the perspective of a new character (which admittedly would be by the episode most of the time) and the default Dream would be Rickman.

Hob is the best character, but he wouldn't be a good point of view, you'd miss so many of the stories

It could, but it shouldn't. Some things are better left alone. The main appeal of Sandman is the artwork, it would be boring if it was live action.

>The main appeal of Sandman is the artwork
The main appeal of Sandman is the story

FTFY

I dunno. Like Watchmen, there's a lot more to it than the overarching plot. It uses the floppy format of comics to create a patchwork quilt of stories that each tell a small unordered part of this other story. I don't think that translates in a faithful way to a film or even serialized show format that would be entertaining, while still being faithful to the source material. It's one of those things where the point is that it's a comic book

The main appeal of Sandman is the comic book. The entire point of comics is a mix of artwork and story you twats.

desu this is a fantastic idea. So many pasty white guys that can act

>The entire point of comics is a mix of artwork and story you twats.
And the extent to which each of them impacts the comic varies from comic to comic. Sandman is a russian nesting doll of stories. Guess just how much that makes the comic in this case.

If Preacher and American Gods do well, then with the corporate eye looking at both Vertigo and Gaiman properties, it's likely that it will at least be considered for adaptation.

I've always thought he's looked like David Bowie, and it seems like Dream's been drawn more like him whenever there's more modern stories with him.

>I've always thought he's looked like David Bowie
Thanks to Lucifer I can't see Bowie as Dream.

they would make it dark as fuck and it would suck

It is painful to think of Sandman on an AMC budget

Preludes and Nocturnes is relatively straightforward - it could easily work as like an 8 episode series. If FX can have a narratively complex series like Legion and HBO can have movie quality visuals on Game of Thrones, then this too can work as a show.

need more sandman

Live action is overrated

I'd argue that a lot of the story is told through the artwork, and that differentiating the two is a stupid effort that undermines the point of the comic book. Saying that only "story" or the "artwork" is the main appeal is silly since the two are one and the same.

should the include the more explicit DC universe things in P&N like Scott Free, Martian Manhunter, and Scarecrow? Or work around it as a standalone?

I mean, you could, but Preludes is all setup for stuff later on in the series. Honestly, I think it's the weakest of the arcs, and it's clear that Gaiman still didn't quite have a grasp on the tone and style of writing that he would use for the rest of the series until the eighth issue. By itself, it's just a collection quest in the DC universe for reasons that don't really matter since we would never see Dream performing his functions as an Endless.

keep it more of a standalone thing. I think Legion did a good job of being its own thing while still giving a nod to the larger universe. If anything id like to see an appearance by Wesley Dodds Sandman

True. But it would be a good introduction for the character, world, etc… especially for those who have never heard of The Sandman. Later seasons may not necessarily adapt 1:1 but can certainly take plot points and elements to craft a story that is just as meaningful. I liked how Legion handled things, it took elements of the character, his background, and the Shadow King's story but they weaved their own narrative

here is some concept art from an unsuccessful movie attempt

io9.gizmodo.com/5934937/concept-art-from-the-sandman-movie-that-never-was