“Don Jon” writer-director-star Joseph Gordon Levitt has left New Line’s big-screen adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel series “Sandman.”
Levitt, who intended to direct “Sandman” as well as star as its title character, announced his departure Saturday following Friday’s news that New Line had hired Eric Heisserer (whose “The Thing” and “Final Destination 5” both hit the big screen in 2011) to script the project.
Levitt looks enough like Dream of the Endless, but always struck me as an odd choice to helm. Levitt’s only prior feature directing credit was “Don Jon,” a rambunctious romantic dramedy about a fellow addicted to masturbation.
Since its launch in 1988, aborted attempts to adapt “Sandman” to the screen have been copious:
* In 1996, Roger Avery (“Killing Zoe,” “Rules of Attraction”) was attached to direct from a screenplay by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio (“Aladdin,” “Shrek,” “Pirates of the Caribbean”).
* A draft by William Farmer (who contributed to the story for DC’s “Jonah Hex” movie) also went nowhere.
* Writer-director James Mangold (“The Wolverine”) pitched a “Sandman” series to HBO in 2010 that never went forward.
* Soon after Warner Bros. announced that “Supernatural”/”Revolution” creator Eric Kripke had been hired to create a TV-series version of “Sandman.” That project was dead by the following year.
Levitt’s statement:
So, as you might know if you like to follow these sorts of things, a while back, David Goyer and I made a producing deal with Warner Brothers to develop a movie adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s SANDMAN. Neil himself came on as an executive producer, we hired the excellent screenwriter, Jack Thorne, and we started in on the ambitious task of adapting one of the most beloved and boundary-pushing titles in the world of comics. I was pleased with the progress we were making, even though we still had quite a ways to go.Recently, as you also might know if you like to follow these sorts of things, the sorta “ownership” (for lack of a better term) of the Sandman material changed hands when Warner Brothers shifted the entire catalogue of Vertigo comics (an imprint of DC) to their subsidiary, New Line. And a few months ago, I came to realize that the folks at New Line and I just don’t see eye to eye on what makes Sandman special, and what a film adaptation could/should be. So unfortunately, I decided to remove myself from the project. I wish nothing but the best for the team moving forward.
I’d like to thank all the great people I’ve had the opportunity to work with on this one. I’ve had a blast with and learned a ton from David and Jack. Niija Kuykendall, Greg Silverman, and everyone at Warner Brothers have been fantastic, as have Geoff Johns and everyone at DC. And it’s been a particular privilege as well as a rocking good time getting to know Mr. Gaiman, whose generous insights and masterful work have certainly convinced me that the Lord of Dreams and the Prince of Stories are one and the same Endless pattern.
