Long before the Sandman series hit Netflix, there were plenty of other attempts to adapt Neil Gaiman’s graphic novels. Many personalities have wanted to embody the Lord of Dreams. But one star stands out among the others.
Before Sandman lands on Netflix, a live-action adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s graphic novels is something many people have been trying to do for a long time. According to the author, at some point in the 90s, even the King of Pop wanted to be on the show. Yes, Michael Jackson!
While appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast presented by Josh Horowitz, Neil Gaiman opened up about the early days of trying to get his comic book adapted. Specifically, he mentions a time in 1996 when he was brought into a meeting with the chairman of Warner Bros. at the time, who told him that Michael Jackson had called him and was interested in playing the lead role of Morpheus also called Dream, Lord of Dreams.
“In 1996 I was taken to Warner’s, where the then president sat me down and told me that Michael Jackson had phoned him the day before and asked if he could play Morpheus in The Sandman“, says Neil Gaiman. “So there was a lot of interest in it and they knew it was one of the crown jewels and what did I think of it? And I was like, ‘Ooh.’“
Judging by Gaiman’s reaction in the video, it seems like he wasn’t entirely enthusiastic about the idea. Be that as it may, the project ultimately did not come to fruition, and The Sandman was not adapted in series until 2022 and this, thanks to the sabotages of Neil Gaiman himself of the projects which did not suit him.
Since its launch, Sandman is said to be one of the most popular series on the streaming platform, although a second season has still not been announced.