Neil Gaiman’s Comic Book THE SANDMAN Now Headed to Television

Though there had been talk about a film adaptation about the seminal comic book series The Sandman from Neil Gaiman (who also wrote the source material for such adaptations as Coraline and Stardust), but now Heat Vision reports the property is now in the early stages of being developed into a TV show over at Warner Bros. The studio is currently acquiring the rights from DC Entertainment and have already begun talks with various writers and producers for the TV adaptation. Apparently the top choice right now is Eric Kripke, most well known for creating Supernatural, but at the moment author Neil Gaiman is currently not involved with these developments which could create problems down the road. For those unfamiliar with the property you can find story details are after the jump.

Here’s some background on the world and some of the characters within The Sandman series straight from Neil Gaiman’s own website:

“Only that there are seven brothers and sisters who have been since the beginning of time, the Endless. They are Destiny, Death, Dream, Desire, Despair, Delirium who was once Delight, and Destruction who turned his back on his duties. Their names describe their function and the realms that they are in charge of. Several years ago, a coven of wizards attempted to end death by taking Death captive, but captured Dream instead. When he finally escapes he must face the changes that have gone on in his realm, and the changes in himself.”

The series is separated into several different story arcs, some of which are tangents from the core of the series, and you can find details on all of those right here. Since a film version of The Sandman has been in the works since the mid-90′s, I can’t see a television version of the comic being any easier to pull off, but it’s certainly more friendly to the story and its characters. Potential writer Eric Kripke also knows that he’s stepping into sacred comic territory with plenty of fans invested in the series and its mythology (and he’s not a slave to the studio either since he stepped away from Supernatural after completing his planned five-season storyline). It’s not an easy road ahead for this adaptation, but it just might be worth all the trouble in the end. Anyone out there interested in The Sandman heading to television?