Though a film adaptation never came to fruition, last September brought news that Neil Gaiman's seminal comic book series The Sandman may head to television in the form of a series from Warner Bros. and Supernatural creator Eric Kripke. However, at a PaleyFest red carpet event, Kripke had some disappointing news, telling The Live Feed "Unfortunately, for a lot of varying reasons, Sandman is not in the works, at least for this season." He elaborated that the potential adaptation "just didn’t quite happen this season through nobody’s fault, and hopefully we can do it again in the future.”So it sounds like there is still hope for those looking to see Gaiman's favorite comic book get its due diligence on some sort of screen whether it's big or small. But for now the project won't be getting off the ground anytime soon. I guess it's not surprising since a film adaptation was attempted several times since the 90s with no success. Neil Gaiman fans will just have to be a little more patient. Hit the jump for a synopsis of The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes.Update: DC Comics Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns has tweeted a status update on the project.  Johns tweets that Gaiman is on board and that development on the series continues.  It's possible that the development simply now continues without Kripke's participation.  Here's Johns' tweet:

Correction to world: The Sandman is AWAKE! :) Psyched to be working with @neilhimself on developing one of the greatest series ever!

Here's a synopsis of The Sandman: Volume 1 - Preludes and Nocturnes:

"Wake up, sir. We're here." It's a simple enough opening line--although not many would have guessed back in 1991 that this would lead to one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comics of the second half of the century.In Preludes and Nocturnes, Neil Gaiman weaves the story of a man interested in capturing the physical manifestation of Death but who instead captures the King of Dreams. By Gaiman's own admission there's a lot in this first collection that is awkward and ungainly--which is not to say there are not frequent moments of greatness here. The chapter "24 Hours" is worth the price of the book alone; it stands as one of the most chilling examples of horror in comics. And let's not underestimate Gaiman's achievement of personifying Death as a perky, overly cheery, cute goth girl! [Amazon]