Sandman is a property fans of the Vertigo Comics series have been anxious to see in live-action for a long time now, and it sounds like things were moving along nicely at Netflix before the COVID-19 pandemic put the TV show on hold. Answering a fan's question on Tumblr (yes, people still use that), co-creator Neil Gaiman provided fans with an update.
"The scripts for the first season are written, casting had started, directors hired, sets were being built," he reveals. "Everything was ready to go into production, and then we moved into a pause." On the plus side, while the show is now "hibernating," Gaiman adds: "As soon as the world is ready to make TV drama, Sandman will move smoothly back into being made."
Netflix gave an adaptation of the iconic comic book property the green light last summer, and Gaiman came on board at the time as an executive producer and co-writer. He's previously said that the first two seasons have already been plotted out, but an actual start date was never confirmed.
Now, current world events mean that Sandman is inevitably heading our way later than expected.
The Netflix series is being developed, co-written and executive produced by Allan Heinberg, who also serves as showrunner. Gaiman and David S. Goyer will both executive produce and co-write.